that Stark girl
by xxxidrilxxx
Summary: Modern AU: Gendry is a cop, Ned Stark his boss. Sansa is engaged to a politician's son, and Arya is Arya. Follows the book story-line. Gendry finds himself arresting a feisty girl later to discover it's his boss' daughter.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Ned Stark must have seen something special in him.

Gendry told himself that every day- whenever things got tough, whenever he wanted to give up.

When he had first met the man, it had been in the interrogation room at the Sheffield police station.

Ned Stark had questioned him, about his involvement with the men in the pub fight he had tried to split up; but then about his life and what he was doing with it.

Ned had listened. He had even chuckled a couple of times, and then Gendry had been released, with a pat on the back and a "stay out of trouble son".

Two days later, Ned Stark had been outside Gendry's flat as he was heading out to meet a mate for breakfast, holding two coffees and nodding towards a street bench.

"I'll cut right to the chase boy," Ned told Gendry once they were sat on the bench. "I see potential in you. Now, I don't say that to every kid we bring in at the station. Behind that stubborn brow of yours though, I see honor and strength..."

Gendry soon forgot all about having to meet his mate for breakfast and he spent the better half of the day sitting on that bench. Listening. Listening to what this man wanted to say.

Ned wanted him to become a police officer! Him! Gendry Waters the bastard. The lowlife. The nobody that could very easily spend a few weeks dead in his room before his landlord came demanding the rent only to discover his rotting corpse, and perhaps heading downstairs to finish his crossword before calling the police.

What scared Gendry the most as he sat there and Ned continued to speak, while he became lost in his fears and thoughts, was the fact that a very big part of him wanted to. He had always wanted to better himself and this seemingly strict but oddly caring man was handing him the opportunity to.

And he had made it. Gendry Waters. Him. He'd finally made it: he was now part of the S. Yorkshire Police Dept.

It was the first time in his life he had actually tried, and Ned's faith in him was what fuelled him. It was for that, that he had grown to love this man. His Chief Officer. His friend. A man who had become the closest thing to a father figure he had ever had.

Gendry drove on, lost in thought, forgetting what had triggered these memories as he pulled into the Shell station. That's when he saw it.

A small hooded boy stepped out of his truck, engine still running, and casually walked up to a couple of giggling girls who were walking out of the station, towards the parked silver BMW. With great force, he threw some eggs at them.

Two had landed on the redhead's face and chest while two more hit the car's windshield before the boy began running towards his truck. Gendry was out of his police car by then, running towards the boy's truck, reaching it in time to slam the door closed.

But when he turned around, the boy was gone and the BMW girls were shrieking and pointing, and Gendry was running in the direction they were pointing... around the corner, along the highway, where he spotted the black hoodie at a distance.

It didn't take long for Gendry to catch up, and he grabbed the kid from behind, only then to realize it was a girl, as she yelled at him to release her.

She fought. Fought hard as he pushed her down on the dirt floor trying to be both hard and gentle, since the girl felt quite fragile despite her strength.

"Let me go, stupid!"

"Hold still!" Gendry huffed, as he struggled to pull the handcuffs out of his pocket. A truck driver whistled at them as he sped by and several other cars honked.

Once he had her handcuffed, Gendry pulled her to her feet and pulled her hoodie off.

_Yep. It was a girl._

She had shoulder length brown hair, and all the features of a girl.

She was glaring up at him fiercely, her brows furrowed deeply over large gray eyes. Her leg swung at him, barely missing.

Gendry pushed her forward then, forcing her to walk in the direction of his car, while the entire time she shoved herself against him, dragging her feet so that he had to hold her tighter and push harder.

She was strong, for a girl, and by the time they reached his police car he was sweaty and irritated. The BMW girls were gone and Gendry pushed the girl into the back seat, slamming the door behind her. He wiped the sweat off his brow and stepped into his car.

"You're new, aren't you?"

Gendry rolled his eyes and ignored her as he started the car. He hated when people assumed he was green. He was, but he hated it all the same. He hated not knowing what gave him away. Even the old lady at the diner that morning and the blonde waitress Yoren had flirted with had figured him out.

"You are. I can smell it on you!" she taunted, slamming a foot against the barrier fence between them.

Gendry laughed in irritation, wiping a hand over his face in exasperation. He smiled back at her. "How can someone so small, be such a huge pain in the ass?"

As they entered the station, they were greeted with smiles from most of the officers.

"Hi Arya," Officer Levan said as they walked past his desk.

It came from all over the room; from every desk in the office. Everyone greeted the girl.

"I'm guessing you're a usual, eh?" Gendry said as he spotted two constables clearly shaking their heads at him, laughing. Someone across the room yelled "She's broken the rookie!"

Gendry hated them.

He walked foward, ignoring the whispers and looks everyone was giving him.

"Sit," Gendry pointed towards a chair.

"_Arya_?"

They both turned to find Ned Stark standing right outside his office door.

Arya stepped forward holding her cuffed hands out to Yoren, who had followed Ned out into the hall.

"Hello father."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**AN**

**So this is my first fan fic ever. Ive been reading fanfics and creating fanfics in my head for other ships (hatter/ alice, maria/robin franky/nick) but this is the first time i've loved and shipped two characters so much i had to fanfic. **

**Any way, im really excited about this story and another one im cooking that is show based and from Gendry's perspective. I apologize if i forget to capitalize at the beginning of sentences and stuff. Im on a mac and i dont have Word.**

**Enjoy! I dont own any of these characters!**

****

Gendry stared in horror as Yoren took the handcuffs off Arya. He was still processing the fact that he had just arrested Ned Starks daughter. His head began to heat up, and he could feel the stares of all the other officers heavy on his back.

Ned sighed and shook his head at his daughter. Arya thanked Yoren, rubbing her wrists.

Ned held the door of his office open for her and she stepped inside, head bowed down, stealing a glance over at Gendry before Ned closed the door.

Gendry stared at it for a few seconds, feeling like an idiot before the scattered laughter that filled the room brought him back. He sat in the chair he had ordered Arya to sit on a few moments ago. Yoren joined him.

"It's his daughter!" Gendry laughed dryly, but it came out as a huff.

"Aye," Yoren nodded, smiling down at the handcuffs in his hands.

Gendry shook his head, exhaling sharply. "I had no idea, I mean, I knew he had daughters and all, but how was i suppose to guess she... she could have told me! She didn't say anything when I... she broke the law! Well, sorta, I mean... I didn't even handle her that rough...not really... she was squirming around and giving me a hard time and... she could have told me who she was! She..."

"You've done nothing wrong, boy!" Yoren cut him off.

Gendry gave him a side look. Yoren laughed and Gendry relaxed a bit, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Would've loved to see you arresting her." Yoren whispered, scratching under his beard with the handcuffs.

Gendry laughed then, shaking his head. "She's feisty."

"She's brilliant."

"Is she?" Gendry raised an eyebrow.

"Aye. Known her almost all her life. She has so much spirit. Splitting image of Ned's late sister, and just as wild."

Gendry had nothing to say to that, so instead he grabbed the handcuffs from Yoren's hands, standing.

"These are mine," he said, waving them at Yoren.

He tossed the handcuffs on his desk as he walked towards the restroom. Once inside, he locked the door after himself.

Standing in front of a mirror, he saw his uniform was dirty from the struggle with the Stark girl. He tugged at his vest, wanting out of it.

"You're new, aren't you?"

Gendry sniffed in anger as he rolled his sleeves up and washed his hands, splashing cold water on his face.

He rubbed at his temples, hoping the headache that he had started on the drive to the station would go away. He gave himself one last look in the mirror before heading back out.

Back at his desk, he found some pills. He was headed for the vending machine for a juice when the door to Ned's office opened and Arya walked out, followed by her father and the redhead from the gas station. She must have arrived when Gendry was in the restroom.

She had had a change of clothes, but there was a fading red mark on her forehead from her attack.

To his surprise the three of them walked towards him.

"Girls, I'd like you to meet someone," Ned smiled at Gendry, wrapping an arm around each of the girls.

"This is Gendry, our newest constable."

Gendry smiled weakly, bowing his head. Meeting the red head's eyes then Arya's, whose grimace made her seem like a child.

"This is Sansa, my oldest daughter. Arya, you've met." Ned laughed at that. Gendry smiled politely at Arya and stole a glance over to the redhead who had not stopped eyeing him up and down.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Constable," Sansa said in a small, sweet voice.

"Gendry's fine," he told her, still finding the title alien to him.

"Gendry," she repeated with a smile, making Gendry feel uncomfortable.

He found himself holding back a snort when he saw out of the corner of his eye Arya rolling her eyes at her sister and pulling away from under her father's arm. Ned patted her on the head and kissed Sansa's forehead.

"You go on home now," he told her. "Arya and I will be over soon. Gendry, a word in my office."

Gendry waved back awkwardly at Sansa, who was waving him good bye on her way out of the station. He walked up behind Ned into his office. Before he closed the door, Ned called out at Arya.

"Go with Yoren. Yoren... no guns please. "

Gendry began muttering out apologies as soon as they had the privacy of Ned's office.

Ned held a hand up, shaking his head at him.

"Have a seat Gendry, you're in no trouble."

Gendry sat, watching as Ned walked behind his desk and looked back at him.

"Every man that's ever worked for me at this station has met my family. My chidren have been vacationing with a close family friend. So you hadn't had the pleasure to meet them. You'll meet my boys soon enough. My wife you've met, of course."

"Lovely lady," Gendry nodded nervously.

"Yes," Ned chuckled at Gendry's anxiousness.

He sat in his chair, hoping it would relax Gendry.

"I've told you son, you're not in trouble. The complete opposite, really. Like I was saying, everyone here knows my family and they take it upon themselves to be lenient towards my children and look the other way when incidents like today's happen," he smiled gently, "I love my children, Gendry, and I want them to grow up knowing that there are consequences to their actions regardless of who they are and that they are a Stark. You did good today. Arya can be a bit rebellious at times, but she is a good girl. This is not the first time she's caused trouble. I doubt it'll be the last."

"However it is the first time she's been arrested. Don't ever let a person's name get in the way of you doing your job. I encourage you to always do what's right. That responsibility comes with this job. Honor, I fear, is a dying trait in men nowadays. Never find yourself lacking it."

Gendry was awestruck and all he could do was nod. With a smile, Ned led him to the door, patting his back.

On his way home, Gendry beat himself for the idiotic apologies he had offered Ned. He had done his job and now felt like an ass-kissing moron who had allowed others' views of him influence his actions too much. All those tossers who looked down on him could go suck on a park bench for all he cared.

After a hot shower and some eggy bread, he pulled out his university books and felt his headache intensify at the simple thought of studying. Ned had insisted he enroll at Sheffield. Damn it Ned!

He made a face as he read over what would be in tomorrow's test, rubbing violently at his temples. After 20 minutes, he cursed and tossed the book over his shoulder.

He stood from the kitchen table and set the alarm on his mobile an hour earlier than usual. He pulled off his shirt and walked over to the front door securing the locks. Turning the lights off after himself, and hoping sleep would take away the headache, he walked into his room, kicking aside his boots and slipping into bed.

He thought about what Ned had told him. About honor. Doing the right thing. He thought about his mother. Her yellow hair. Her songs and the men she brought over sometimes. She would always give Gendry a few pounds and send him off to the park. It made Gendry shudder now to know where the money came from.

As Gendry began to feel sleep finally take him over, his thoughts oddly went to the Stark girl. She'd given him quite a workout. He smiled at that. He thought back on what Yoren had said. She's brilliant...

Gendry smiled, remembering her face...those eyes. The stubborn wrinkle on her brow...

He could see it now.

**So i'm making Arya 16, and Gendry 21... since Maisie is 15 and Joe 24, i thought this would be an ok age to make them in this story. I know this didn't have a lot of Arya/Gendry in it but i want to introduce them and their lives before i get to the chaos! Next chapter will be Arya's. Thanks! Reviews greatly appreciated since this is my first story ever!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

****Arya woke to feathery whispers and a small hand shaking her shoulder lightly.

"Arya... Arya are you awake?"

"No," she whispered back, eyes still closed. At the sound of her voice, she felt her white and brown husky Nymeria stir at her side and jump off the bed. She felt the small boy slip under the covers and she slid to the other side of the bed giving him her back.

"My game's today," he told her with excitement, resting his chin on her shoulder. Her eyes opened then.

"I'm grounded," she said after a few moments.

"You're always grounded!" he complained, jumping out of her bed and storming for the door.

"Rickon!" Arya called out, sitting up in her bed. The little red head boy stopped at the door. "I'm sorry."

He smiled weakly back at her and left, closing the door behind him. Arya dropped back onto her pillow sighing loudly as memories of last night came back to her.

She and her father had been greeted by Sansa's accusations and Catelyn's glares as soon as they'd walked into the house. Arya had known Sansa had been saving her dramatics for home when she'd sat herself quietly in their father's chair back at the station while their father reprimanded them.

"Arya, when are you going to stop behaving like a child? You're 16 years old. You're a young lady now!" Cat said as soon as Sansa had finished her rant.

"Maybe I don't want to be a lady! Maybe I don't want to be like Sansa and marry some stupid ponce!"

"Arya!" Cat's jaw fell in horror.

"You see what I had to put up with during the entire trip mother!"

"Girls! Cat!" Ned interrupted as he walked behind Cat and massaged his wife's shoulders reassuringly. "We've already gone over all of this. Arya is grounded," he reminded them, nodding once at each girl. "I've already had a talk with Arya. There is no need for all this shouting."

Cat relaxed a bit but Sansa didn't seem the least bit satisfied.

"I'd like a word with Arya please," Cat announced calmly.

Ned nodded, kissing the top of his wife's head. Holding his hand out to Sansa. "Let's you and I have a chat about this boy Joffrey, now," he said as he led her down the hall.

Arya stood by the front door, looking at her mother; trying to read her face. Cat stood from her seat, clasping her hands together, giving her youngest daughter a kind smile. "Let's have a walk in the garden. "

The autumn night was colder than usual, but Arya liked the cold. She loved the smell of it. The smell of trees, and dirt, and ice. That's what cold smelled like to her. Frozen dirt. She had missed home. Missed the early autumn and the even earlier winter which she could tell was right around the corner. The trip had taken way to long for her taste. No one should be subject to travel around the world with Joffrey Baratheon. Stupid tyrannical idiot! Missing half a brain and all his manners. She still didn't understand what Sansa saw in him. Didn't understand what had made her accept his proposal.

"Cold night," Cat said up into the sky as she sat down on a garden bench across the pool.

"I like it," Arya said, sitting next to her mother.

"Me too," Cat smiled, bringing herself to look away from the stars and at her daughter, brushing a strand of hair away from Arya's face; cupping her cheek in her hand. There was sadness in her smile.

Arya reached up and held the hand her mother had rested on her cheek.

"I love both my girls so much," she paused, closing her eyes. "My sweet, delicate Sansa," she smiled up at Arya then, "And my wild, spirited Arya," she whispered pulling her hand from Arya's face and grabbing the hand that held hers. "I don't want you to ever forget that."

Arya nodded.

"I only ask that you stop giving your sister such a hard time. Stop acting so boyish. You're a lady, a Stark! I only say it because I love you, you know that, don't you? And I only want what's best for you."

Arya released her mother's hand.

"If you love me, love me for who I am."

"Who you are is a beautiful young woman. My lovely Stark lady trying too hard to be something she isn't."

Arya felt too tired to argue any further. Her head throbbed and she was too tired from the trip and the struggle with that cop earlier to repeat this conversation with her mother, yet another time. So she nodded, and her mother kissed her forehead.

On her way up to her room, she made a quick stop at Brandon's room.

She walked in without knocking and her throat knotted as she saw his wheelchair. She blinked back tears of anger.

(Bran's accident had felt like no accident. It had happened during their trip with Robert and his family. After the Maldives and the three day stop they made in St Petersburg, Robert and Cersei promised them a small detour to Alaska. Arya had always loved the snow and the Denali Ski Resort had her all giddy- she almost forgot to miss Jon. They had been out skiing most of the day, only once taking a break to eat. She had been the first to notice that Bran had been away from their group too long. They found him not far from the area they had been playing by, on the floor and unconscious. He had been helicoptered to the hospital and Cat had flown over on one of Robert's jets. Robert had spent an hour on the phone with Ned and had insisted Ned stay at work, since he was in the middle of a case. Sansa and Cat started crying when the doctor told them Bran would never walk again. Arya had just stared numbly at Bran through the glass window of his room. Robb had walked up to her and hugged her. She had cried then. Bran would never ride a bike again. He would never run, or ride horses with her. They would never wrestle again, or race. Bran loved racing.

As soon as Bran had been released from the hospital, Robert announced they'd be headed for home. They had to spend a night in Atlanta, Georgia, and two in New York City. Robb had offered to take all the kids to Central Park the morning of their first day in New York. Robb and Arya had taken turns pushing Brans wheelchair around until he'd snapped an insisted on pushing himself around.

Tommen, Myrcella and Rickon had been with a woman's dog as the woman sat on a blanket, laughing and clapping at the children and Robb and Bran had been sitting close by, Bran in his chair and Robb on the grass. Arya had been by a lake throwing rocks in the water, getting lost in the movement of the ripples when Sansa and Joffrey walked by on the small path behind Arya.

"Please Joffrey, don't be so upset."

"I've been planning this trip for years!" Joffrey spat out. "Now it's been cut short thanks to your stupid brother!"

Thats when she threw the rock. It hit his face and he fell down in an awkward spin, landing face down with a grunt. Arya sprinted out from behind the bushes and down the path, headed towards Robb and the kids.

"FUCKING BITCH!" was all she managed to comprehend from Joffrey's yells as she ran fast towards her brothers.

Back at the hotel, Arya had lied about the rock. She couldn't admit throwing the rock without revealing her motives. The last thing Bran needed to hear was what Joffrey had said. To make matters worse, Sansa had agreed to the lies Joffrey had weaved into what had really happened. That night in their room, Arya accused Sansa of lying and not standing up for Bran. Sansa denied it all. That was what started the fight that had followed them all the way home and ended that afternoon in the gas station)

Bran was laying on his bed, headphones over his ears, eyes closed. She walked the distance to his bed and rested her hand lightly on his knee. His eyes flew open as hers grew wide. He pulled his headphones off.

"I could hear Sansa all the way up here earlier," he said waving the headphones at Arya.

"Did you feel that?" Arya asked, as Bran propped himself on his elbow and tossed the headphones onto a chair, turning awkwardly to pause the ipod sitting on his night table. He gave her a querying glance.

"My hand, your knee!" Arya clarified, as she took her hand off his knee.

Bran shook his head. "I could feel you in the room though."

Arya slid his legs aside carefully, sitting on his bed. "How are you?"

"Depressed."

Arya bit her lip. "Memory still fuzzy?"

"Yes. How are you?"

"Grounded."

"I know," he smiled. "Why'd you do it?"

Arya sighed angrily, "She can't marry him, Bran."

Her brother nodded, laying back down and staring at the ceiling. "I know, but there's nothing much we can do about it. Behaving as you've been will only make things worse between you and Sansa. It'll drive you two further apart."

Arya hated that he was right but couldn't find it in her to just not do anything about it.

"Becoming depressed over your situation and feeling sorry for yourself wont give you your legs back."

Bran sprung up, off his pillow, propping himself on his elbows. Brother and sister shared a long, intense stare before he dropped back onto his pillow once more and found the ceiling spot he had been staring at.

"I don't feel sorry for myself."

Arya smiled, though he didn't see it. She stood then, leaning down to kiss her brother's forehead. "Good night," she whispered, turning towards the door.

"Have a talk with her. Don't yell, don't argue... just talk," Bran called out before Arya reached the door. She stood still a moment before she left his room.

All everyone in this family ever wanted to do was talk, Arya thought as she closed and locked the door to her room and stripped her clothes off, looking at herself in the mirror. There was a bruise on her shoulder from earlier. She couldn't help but smile. _Stupid brute_!

After a long, long shower, she slipped into bed and thought of ways she could get through to Sansa.

This morning, as she laid in her bed, no longer sleepy thanks to Rickon, she once again began thinking up conversations in her head and all the possible ways they could end. She pulled herself out of bed and changed into her favorite jeans and sweater. She'd be at Rickons game today. And she would get in trouble for it. She smiled at the thought.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Gendry woke half an hour before his alarm went off and he managed to squeeze in a quick shower before he started breakfast, textbook in hand. He flipped his omelette gracelessly, nearly dropping it on the floor. His coffee had grains in it and his toast had burnt, but he never let go of the book.

The headache was thankfully gone, he noted as he brushed his teeth. He grabbed his keys, headed out the door, and couldn't help the smile on his face as the cold air made him shudder. It was going to be a good day!

xxxxxxxxxxx

There was a quiet knock on the door.

"Just a minute," Sansa called out as she applied the second coat of mascara. She capped the tube, tied her robe closed and unlocked the door.

Arya stood there in jeans and Jon's old grey sweater, hair tied back in her usual half ponytail, clearly ready to go out.

Sansa looked her up and down. "I thought you were grounded," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Arya sighed, to calm herself. "Give it a rest. I'm here to talk," she said, pushing past Sansa into her room.

"About?" Sansa asked curiously as she locked the door before sitting on her bed next to Arya.

After practicing it in her head, she knew exactly what she had to say next, and yet it took Arya a whole minute to finally speak.

"Have you ever seen a man so in love with his wife you can feel it every time you see him look at her?"

After a few seconds Sansa nodded. "Father."

That's exactly what Arya had hoped Sansa would answer.

"And Richard Gere in Pretty Woman," Sansa added.

Arya rolled her eyes, standing from the bed. Facing her sister. "I see it too. Father. With mother."

Sansa nodded.

"I never seen it when Joffrey looks at you."

Sansa's gaze fell. Arya exhaled sharply kneeling in front of Sansa to meet her eyes.

"I've known you my whole life. I know how you view love. Father and mother love each other. _That's_ love. If that's what you want...why are you marrying Joffrey?"

Sansa still hadn't met Arya's eyes. Arya knelt there patiently. She could see it finally dawning on Sansa. It caused her pain, but it also made sense to her. Arya could tell.

After what felt like hours, Sansa met Arya's gaze and said, "Joffrey and I love each other," with a weak smile.

Arya stood, letting out an exasperated grunt, stomping towards the door, swallowing all the things she wanted to say to her stupid sister.

"You have never been in love Arya!" Sansa shrieked as she stood, following Arya before she reached the door. Arya turned to look at her sister, face red with anger, she stood almost a foot taller than her and for a second Arya prepared herself to be slapped across the face. That was always Sansa's way.

Sansa just stood there though, looking down at her sister, fury ebbing as she prepared herself to speak again.

"One day you will. You will fall in love. You will meet someone who will mean the world to you. Someone you'll be willing to lie for, and die for, even kill for. And when that day comes, maybe then you'll understand how I feel about Joffrey!"

"No," Arya shook her head. "That's not me."

**AN**

**So not a lot of Arya/Gendry in these chapters. But im trying to introduce our modern characters before i get to the Arya/Gendry scenes. This was an odd chapter as it starts off the morning after the egg incident then goes to a memory of the night before, then in the memory goes into a memory of the trip and Brans accident, coming back to the memory, then back to the morning after. Sorry about that. Review please! Thanks for reading :)**


	4. Chapter 4

It had been a pretty crappy week, starting with the events with that Stark girl. He'd gotten a D in a test he had felt moderately prepared for. He recalled how comfortable he'd felt with the outcome of Tuesday morning's test.

Looking at the posted results this afternoon, he felt completely discouraged about school all over again and knew just where he could drain all those rubbish feelings out of his system.

Walking into the gym he was welcomed by the smell of disinfectants, sweat and febreze and he felt the muscles on his neck relax at the familiarity of his surroundings. As he walked out of the changing rooms and towards his usual bench, he almost crashed into a small figure in a crown braid. As she faced him, Gendry couldn't explain the wave of alarm that ran through all of his body as he realized who it was.

"what're _Y_ou doing here?" he demanded a bit too crudely than he intended, only then realizing how stupid his question was. Her eyebrows furrowed

"it's the gym."

Gendry eyed her outfit. She wore all black and had a green yoga mat rolled under her arm.

"it's sorta of a deal i made with my mum." she told him as she followed him, sitting cross legged on the bench that was next to the one he had begun to prep. He gave her a quick backwards glance. "yoga?"

She nodded placing her bag and mat down next to her. "i could drop ettiquette lessons if i started yoga classes. She wants me to channel my energy. More like dilute it if you ask me. "

Gendry smiled, laying back on the bench. Arya stood suddenly, leaning over his weights.

"How much do you bench press?"

Gendry snorted, "more than you ever could. " he teased.

She scoffed at him, "you don't know that!"

"Trust me..." he grunted as he pushed the weight bar off the barr holder, "i do."

"i'm, stronger than i look. I can beat my brothers in almost everything. I can outrun my brother Bran and he's the best runner i know." she paused suddenly, blinking back her words.

"was." she corrected herself, almost inaudibly. Gendry stilled his arms, his eyes meeting Arya's.

He recalled the morning Ned had arrived to work and told everyone to keep his son Bran in their prayers. He'd told them of the call he'd received at 3am that morning.

Later that day Yoren had briefly told Gendry about Ned's children, assuring him he'd meet them soon.

_I would come to arrest one of them soon. _

"I used to be able to beat him," Arya smiled sadly. Gendry resumed bench pressing, stealing a quick glance every now and then to make sure she was ok.

"I gave you quite a workout the other day." she pointed out proudly, changing the mood quickly.

Gendry laughed dryly, grunting as he pushed the bar up, away from his chest.

"No," he grunted loudly as he pulled the bar towards his chest, "...you didn't"

"you're a liar!" she said picking up her things off the bench she had been sitting on, clearly offended.

"you know, you shouldn't insult people that are bigger than you!" he called out as she headed towards the exit.

She turned grimacing in disbelief, "then i wouldnt get to insult anyone!" she called back as she shouldered her bag pack and turned back towards the exit door.

Gendry smiled to himself. _True. _

Arya's presence had been robbing him of the relief he had come here for. With her gone, he could focus now. He needed to get rid of all the stress the week had brought.

But, before he knew, suddenly out of nowhere, Arya appeared from behind pushing down at the weight bar he held with all her weight, her upside down face a foot away from his. He held the bar up startled, feeling the pressure on his chest and neck.

"Arya! What the..."

"Want to wrestle?" she asked him. He blinked back, shocked. She gave a quick look towards the wrestling room that were to the right of the locker rooms.

"I'd hurt you." he huffed out, eyes wide.

"You would not."

"You don't know how strong i am."

"You don't know how quick i am." she said, taking her weight off the bar, stepping back.

A thrill ran through him at the challenge in her voice, and he placed the weights back in the bar holder and sat up with a smile.

"You're asking for it, Arya." he warned her, deepening his smile. She smiled too, clearly excited.

A ringing startled them both, and Arya reached for her pack which lay on the floor behind Gendry's bench. She pulled out her mobile, answering with a swipe of her finger on the screen.

"mom?"

At that second Gendry felt the adrenaline drain out of him almost instantly, leaving him dizzy. Only then did he realize what a silly idea it was.

"no." Arya said to her phone, galncing quickly at Gendry. "yoga class just ended... yes...right now?"

She shouldered her pack and picked up her mat. "ok. " she said.

She began to walk towards the the exit, turning back and waving good bye to Gendry. "no one mentioned it" she said to her phone pulling her keys out one of her back pack's zippers.

Gendry watched her walk out the door. He felt odd. He looked over at the weight bar, and made a face. His workout had sorta been ruined.

He stood, grabbed his towel and went to the locker room to collect his things, skipping the shower. He'd just shower at home.

xxxxxxxxxx

Arya dumped her keys on the bowl kept at the entrance, and ran up the stairs two at a time.

She dumped her gym pack at the foot of her bed, kicking off her shoes and pealing off her yoga capris and tank top. She jumped into her shower and racked her brain as she made a mental picture of all the dresses she had, unbraiding her hair while massaging shampoo onto it aggressively.

She hated dressing up.

She showered quickly, and jumped out of the shower, towel drying her hair. She ran up to her closet, yanking at the doors eyeing her dress section quickly, before pulling off the hanger a short strapless ice colored dress Robb had bought for her. She dropped the towel that had been wrapped around her body and slipped into it, zipping at the side. She realized she had no shoes to go with it.

Hair still wet, soaking the back of the dress, she ran to Sansa's room.

"Sansa" she banged at the door.

Sansa opened, toothbrush in mouth. "Yo'r not rewwy?"

"I need shoes for this."

Panicked, Sansa ran to her restroom rink and spat.

"They won't fit," she told her as she walked to her closet.

"Better than nothing." Arya said, grabbing one of Sansa's brushes off her dresser and brushing through her tangled hair. She wrinkled her nose as Sansa held up a pair of cream pumps. Sansa walked back into her closet.

"How will you do your hair?"

"who cares!"

"These aren't too tall. Now go" Sansa said handing her a pair of black strappy heels and pushing her out of the room.

Arya ran into Robb in the hallway. He raised his eyebrows and smiled at her dress.

Arya shook her head, rolling her eyes. "what's this dinner for?" she complained.

He shrugged. "I don't know. Personally i've had enough of the Baratheons and the Lannisters to last me two, maybe three life times."

Arya giggled.

"You should hurry." Robb urged as he walked down the stairs. "unless you want mother to have a fit."

"Shell have a fit when she sees that tie" Arya called out as she walked into her room.

Robb paused mid staircase. "i like this tie"

Arya smiled widely closing the door.

"what's wrong with my tie?" she heard him yell.

Arya had considered leaving her hair down but it had already begun to dry oddly. She strapped the heels on and braided her hair to one side. She looked at herself in the mirror. _Stupid dress_!

'Stupid Sansa" she said out loud, knowing this was probably about that stupid engagement. _Stupid Joffrey!_

Heading down the stairs, she heard Robert's hearty laugh and knew their guests had arrived.

Dinner had been fairly tolerable. Robert had made a few remarks about Arya's resemblance to her aunt which he made every time she dressed up. He had mocked Joffrey saying, "Look at her, all sweet and lady like. Can you believe she beat the shit out of your face with a rock!"

Joffrey held two finger tips to the scarring gash on his forehead.

Arya bit her lip to keep from smiling, while Rickon and Robb failed to. Robb sipped at his drink to hide it.

"How are you doing little angel?" Cersie asked Bran suddenly, taking everyone's attention off Joffrey.

Bran nodded.

"better." he lied

"Still can't remember a thing?" Cersei asked curiously.

"No. It's all still a blur." he answered sincerely.

"That's a shame." she told him sipping at her drink.

Robert stood then, and announced the purpose for their gathering. He announced he was going to pay for Bran's therapy. Her father stood.

"Robert, there is no need to..."

"Now you be quiet and sit!" Robert cut him off. "That boy was under my responsibility and it's only right. He's family. He's my best friend's son and therefore he's like one of my own. It is no trouble. Ill have it no other way. I've talked to a few people, made a few deals," he smiled, "he's to have the best of the best!"

He nodded to Bran then. "what do you think, boy?"

Bran gave Ned a quick look. Ned smiled down at his son and Bran smiled up at Robert.

"Thank you." he said.

Robert laughed, picking up his glass and toasting to Bran. Cersei smiled up at her husband then over at Bran, finishing the rest of her wine in one swallow.

After dinner, Robert annouced it was time for business and nodded over to Ned's study. Ned kissed Cat and lead Robert down the hall to his office.

Sansa suggested her and Joffrey walk ouside. Joffrey who had been strangely quiet and sour faced most of the evening nodded once with a sneer and they excused themselves. Robb had also excused himself to go study and Arya was stuck listening to Cersei tell Catelyn what a lovely match Sansa and Joffrey made. They began discussing wedding ideas when Arya stood, too restless to just sit and listen. She wanted to hit something!

She thought about Gendry. Of how fun it would have been if she had wrestled him. Stupid him! Thought she wasn't strong enough! Ha! She remembered how tired he'd been after he had arrested her.

She smiled at the memory as she walked towards the dinner table.

It had been cleared and Bran had Rickon, Myrcella and Tommen gathered around his chess board as he explained the rules and moves.

"i like the horse!" Tommen said. Rickon nodded smiling.

"knight!" Bran corrected.

He was playing against Myrcella. He explained the three different moves she could make next.

Arya sat next to Tommen, resting her face against her hand, biting down on her lip. She could go swim!

Only it was too cold now, and Joffrey was out there with Sansa.

Myrcella moved her rook taking Bran's knight.

"That's good" Bran noted.

Tommen held his hand out for it and examined it once she had placed it on his palm.

"Grandpa Tywin has a ranch in Hampshire with horses! Lots of them. You should all come visit with us!" he told them.

At that, Bran's gaze dropped. Arya's hand dropped from under her chin. She could smack Tommen on the head! She could probably pinch him from under the table. If he tried telling she could give him one of those looks her mother used. Maybe he'd recall the blood running down Joffreys face back in New York and become to afraid to tell.

"I can't ride." Bran said moving a pawn idly. Myrcella reached out for his hand across the table and gave it a comforting squeeze.

"Yes you can" she smiled kindly. "They have special saddles."

"Like cousin Cal!" Tommen exclaimed. Myrcella nodded and smiled at Bran. He smiled back at her. It was Bran's smile. The one he always smiled before the accident!

Myrcella let go of his hand moving her remaining knight.

"Check mate" she said.

RIckon giggled, nearly falling off his chair while Tommen clapped.

"No one beats Bran! Not even father!" Arya gasped out.

Bran's smiled deepened.

She liked Myrcella, Arya thought. She was nothing like her mother, whose smile never reached her eyes. She was kind, clever and wise for her age.

"My turn!" Arya said, resetting the board.

The rest of the evening went by fast. Myrcella beat Arya twice and Bran beat Myrcella twice. It had to be two of the most intense matches she'd ever seen, except for her grandfather and her father's.

After the Baratheon's had left, Arya began to clear the chess board before Mordane told her she'd take care of it. Arya bid her good nights and tiredly dragged herself up the stairs. Stripping the dress of and kicking Sansa's heels off she fell back on her bed in her underwear.

She was too tired to change into her night clothes. _Stupid heels!_

It had been a long day. It had to be well past 11. Looking for her mobile she realized she's left it down stairs. She stood with a groan tugging a long night shirt over her head and heading to fetch it.

The lights were off, the lit chimney the only light down stairs.

Ned and Cat sat in the den, sipping wine, their backs turned towards the stairs.

Arya stopped mid staircase.

"He want's my team of investigators to find him." Ned said in his calm voice.

"Why now, after all these years?" Cat asked. Her mother always gave away her true feelings in her voice.

Ned shook his head. "Im not sure."

"Why would Robert want to find his bastard son after all these years?"

"I think he may know." he sipped his wine. "That's the only thing that could explain it If he knew about Cercei. About his children."

Arya turned to walk back up the stairs, but she hit her toe at the edge and cried out. Ned and Cat turned.

"Arya?" Ned stood.

" What are you doing there?"

**AN**

**For those of you who have read the books, i hope you noticed the scene i added from the book. It's a Gendry scene i really loved in Clash of Kings which was cut from the series. I also weaved in another bit of a scene :) I know this doesn't have a lot of Gendry in it, but like in the books, i want to keep the interraction between Arya and Gendry at a minimum before they're forced to come together and depend on each other. If you've read the books, there are Gendrya scenes, but they're not always in each others company until they leave Harrenhal and are with each other 24/7**

**Please review! Thanks!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN**

**For those of you who didn't find it, the CoK scene i added that wasn't on the show was the scene where Arya and Gendry are about to fight. It was between the introduction to Jaqen and the arrival of the gold cloaks searching for Gendry. I turned it into wrestling but it was pretty much the same idea. I just love that scene and was sad they didn't include it in the show. I love that Gendry had been ready to fight Arya even though he already knew she was a girl! Thank you all for the reviews. Enjoy!**

Arya had sat herself on one of the stairs, desperately rubbing at her toe as the pain crawled up her leg.

Her mother was soon at the light switch, and Arya blinked back as the chandelier in the main room lit filled the room with light.

Her father walked up to her slowly, drink in hand and Arya was glad she had her throbbing toe to distract her from having to meet his eyes. He reached the bottom stair and looked up at her expectantly.

Arya stole a glance at him, face wrinkled in pain before looking down at her foot and rubbing at her toe. The pain was nearly gone.

"Arya. What are you doing?" Ned demanded when he realized she wouldn't offer an explanation on her own.

"Forgot my mobile, 's all" she said, not meeting his eyes. Cat walked over to the table, setting her wine glass down and picking up Arya's phone.

"How long where you standing there?" Ned asked, a bit more casually. Arya shrugged.

"Arya." Ned pushed.

Arya's met his gaze then, and Ned sighed, rubbing his eyes. Cat walked up behind him, handing Arya's mobile to him and taking his drink.

"You know how we feel about eavesdropping Arya." she told her daughter sternly.

"i _w_asn't eavesdropping." Arya admitted easily.

Ned nodded, believing her.

"how much did you hear?" he held out her the phone. She stood, taking a few steps down until she could reach her phone. At this level she was almost as tall as Ned.

"About Robert wanting to find his bastard." she bit her lip, embarrassed. " You mentioned Cersei and their children. That's all"

Ned nodded again.

"I won't tell. No one. Not that i _have_ anyone to tell. But i promise." she looked down at the phone in her hand, "Im sorry."

"you should go to bed. It's late." Ned said, trying to sound stern. But his amusement ebbed off his words. Cat smiled up at her from behind his shoulder.

Arya walked down to her parents, hugging them each goodnight and began sprinting up the stairs when her father called her name. She turned around at the top of the staircase.

"Try and make more noise next time." he said, taking the wine glass from his wife's hand. Arya's brow creased in confusion.

"up and down the stairs i mean." he laughed. "you're like a cat."

Arya rolled her eyes. _Cat's don't stub their toes._

xxxxxxxxxx

Throwing his keys on the kitchen table, and his gym bag on the floor, Gendry took the pot off the burner and tipped it over the sink, emptying out that morning's water. He filled it up and placed it over the flame.

He sat on the sofa, pulling his shoes off and searching for the remote between the cushions. He found it tucked behind the right seat cushion. He clicked the tv on, kicking a book off the seat and resting his head on one arm of the couch and his feet on the other. He might have to drop a class, he thought. He was sure he was failing Algebra.

He began flipping through the channels until the tea pot began to whistle.

Gendry sat up with a groan, his back in knots. He set the remote aside, pulling off his shirt, stretching until he heard a pop. He stood taking the mug he'd used that morning off the coffee table and walking towards the screeching pot.

On the television, Chairman Robert Baratheon was speaking about a physical therapy wing he was sponsoring at Great Ormond. Gendry filled his mug with water and sat it on the table. He walked to the tv.

_TV_

_"...recently, the son of my closest friend suffered a terrible accident while vacationing in the States. The boy was left immobile from the waist down. Now, it is my belief that..."_

"Ned?" Gendry said out loud. _He was friends with Robert Baratheon? _

For some reason it shocked him to think of Ned and Robert Baratheon as friends. They were so different. But then Ned was like that. He was the kind of man to over look a man's flaws and befriend him for the good in him.

Kinda like with Gendry. He was not looking forward to telling him about the dropped class. Thinking about it now; thinking about Ned, he no longer wanted to drop the class.

Gendry took his tea to the couch. Baratheon was saying Bran Stark himself would be one of the first children to use the Physical Therapy wing at Ormond.

Gendry began flipping channels idly wandering how that would work, with the Starks all living here. Ned hadn't mentioned anything about a move. He took a sip of his tea feeling himself relaxing.

_Stupid Arya! _

He couldn't believe he almost fought her. He rolled his eyes at himself. That girl had more courage than sense. He'd probably break her in half in one move. She was so small. Then maybe she could keep her little brother company at the hospital.

_"i gave you quite a workout the other day!"_

Her words echoed in his head. She had. He just wouldnt admit it. To her least of all people. He'd never hear then end of it.

Gendry smiled, taking another sip of his drink. He liked her. She was a feisty little thing but he found he liked that.

She looked nothing like her sister. She was nothing like her either, he could bet on it. He recalled the way the red head Stark had eyed him and batted her lashes at him when they'd been introduced. And right in front of her father too.

No, Sansa looked more like her mother.

Gendry could see bits of Ned in Arya. Especially in the eyes. Knowing Ned though, and having met Catelyn, Gendry couldn't make sense of where Arya had inherited her fiery spirit. Gendry recalled the afternoon of the arrest.

Looking back, maybe she could kick his ass, he thought, recalling the fact that as soon as he grabbed her, his body couldn't help holding back his strength. Had they wrestled, he might have not had a choice if his body had reacted in the same way. She had just felt so thin and fragile he was afraid he'd break her.

He probably had left a couple a bruises on her.

Maybe not. He hoped not.

xxxxxxxxxx

Arya flew off her pillow gasping for air. She was soaked in sweat and her heart was beating wildly against her ribcage. She kicked the covers off her and ran to the window, pushing it open.

The sky was still dark out, and the air was freezing. The cold air froze her sweat within seconds and a chill ran down her spine. She quickly pulled the window closed and ran back to bed, pulling the covers over her tightly. Another chill ran through her body and the blood rushed to her head making her surroundings spin.

She couldn't recall the dream, but it left a hollow in her stomach. After the warmth had retuned to her body, she began feeling around the covers for her phone. When she found it, she learned it was 3: 16 am.

Arya went to her contacts and scrolled down, stopping on Jon.

She stared at the phone for a long time before she touched his name. She touched the message icon and began to type in her message.

"i miss you, stupid!"

She pressed send and tossed the phone besides her.

She wracked her brain trying to remember the dream. Nothing. It had obviously been a nightmare. She could feel it. After what felt like hours, she finally felt sleep settle over her again.

When she woke again, it was light outside. She sat up in her bed recalling last night. It felt so surreal. almost as if waking up had been the dream itself.

She jumped out of bed, quickly replacing her nightshirt with jeans and a hoodie. She brushed her hair and pulled it back into a ponytail. She opened the top drawer of her dresser and pulled out a leash.

Nymeria barked twice as Arya walked out the back door of the house, waving the leash at her. The dog ran towards the her and lifted her front paws to rest them on Arya's shoulders, nearly knocking her back.

Arya fastened the leash on kissing Nymeria's muzzle before the dog resumed standing on all four feet.

"Lets go!' Arya told her and the dog ran towards the back gate.

"Can i come?"

Arya stopped, but Nymeria kept on running tugging at Arya. Arya turned towards the house. It was Bran, in his chair, looking out from the kitchen. Arya wanted to say no. She hated this!

Before she could have easily said no. Now, she found it so hard to be mean to Bran and she hated that. He was still Bran. If it was her in the wheelchair she would hate it if people treated her nice because she couldn't walk. She was sure Bran hated it too. Still, she found herself nodding despite that fact that she wanted to be alone. The boy rolled down the ramp they had installed for him, managing to close the door behind him.

They walked in silence. Arya was still trying to remember the dream but nothing came. No images, no faces, no sounds, no smells. Nothing. She hated nightmares, she hated the edginess they left. But she found she hated this more. Not remembering, yet still feeling. The fear, the anger, the sadness, but not the cause for it.

"I had a dream last night. A nightmare" Bran told her when they'd reached the park and let Nymeria run free. Arya's head snapped to him.

"A nightmare?" she asked stupidly.

"Father was in it. And another man, only i couldn't see his face. They were walking side by side, then the man fell behind. When father turned to look for him he was gone. In his place, a lion. In on move it jumped on father and ripped his head off."

The hollow she had felt last night began to fill. Suddenly she felt her insides fill with panic. A chill ran down her spine, like the ones she had felt earlier that morning.

"Do you think something will happen to father?" he asked shakily.

"Its just a stupid dream Bran," Arya told him, trying to sound annoyed.

"Yea." Bran agreed, not entirely convinced.

But soon, he was talking just like old Bran. Arya made noises here and there to let him know she was paying attention, even though she wasn't. The entire time they spent at the park, and the whole walk back, all Arya could see was the lion's teeth digging into the flesh of her father's neck. It tore at it and she heard the bones crunch under the lion's teeth. Then the blood came. So much blood.

Walking into the kitchen, they were welcomed by the smell of breakfast.

"Morning little ones! Its Saturday! You know what that means!" Mordane cried out excitedly. Arya walked crossed to the kitchen exit, leaving Bran with Mordane.

She could hear her mother and Robb arguing as they walked in through the front door, groceries in hand.

"It was just last night he mentioned it, it's all over the news now!" Cat exclaimed as she gave the grocery bag to Arya and walked back out the front door. Robb and Arya exchanged a glance and he followed her back into the kitchen.

"Mordane's making crepes!" Bran announced enthusiastically.

"I thought crepes were a Saturday only thing." Robb said, setting the bags down on the counter, and playfully untying Mordane's apron.

"It is Saturday, stupid! What's wrong with mom?" Arya demanded.

Before Robb could answer Cat and Ned walked into the kitchen.

"...and the news said construction began last week! Last night.. he wasn't asking, he was informing. That interview was from yesterday morning!" Cat let out, placing the bags down roughly on the kitchen island. Bran rolled out of the way as she pulled the eggs out and stomped towards the refrigerator. "He had already made the choice for us," she yanked to refrigerator door open," as if Bran was His son! He had already made up his mind to send him off!" she placed the eggs inside and slammed the door.

"Robert was only trying to help, Im sure of it. Ill have a talk with him. He was sure we would say yes, he..."

"Using our son to plaster his name all over the newspapers, and the television! Boasting of his kindness and charity!" Cat interrupted tugging a bag of apples out of the paper bag, tearing it.

"It's not like that Catelyn!" Ned assured her, beginning to grow frustrated.

"It's not?" she yelled, tugging harshly at the plastic bag in her hand. The apples fell, rolling all over the floor.

"STOP IT! Stop it both of you! Stop arguing over me! I dont have to go, there are other hospitals, just stop fighting!" Bran cried before rolling out of the kitchen leaving them all in shock. Cat was the one to break the silence as she began to weep and sat on a chair. Ned crossed to his wife taking the seat next to her and took both her hands in his.

"Robert was only trying to help. This is a good hospital. This is all for Bran, but he's right, there are other hospitals. Don't upset yourself love."

"No. No." Cat whispered, shaking her head. Arya felt awkward just standing there so she began to help Robb with the apples.

"This is the best for Bran. Ill go with him, as soon as the wing is finished. Well see how he likes it. Try it out." She told her husband. Ned wiped a tear from his wife's face, kissing her.

Arya turned to Robb who was also staring at their parents. His eyes met Arya's and he stuck his tongue out in disgust. Arya giggled and the heavy mood was completely lifted off like a veil. Ned stood.

"So what's this i hear about crepes?"

"It's Saturday!" Mordane announced as she mixed the batter. Ned smiled at her.

Cat stood, wiping at her face. "Ill go see Bran." she announced and left the room. Arya placed the last of the apples in the bowl Robb had and stood.

Ned walked up to her giving her a sideways hug and a kiss on her forehead. The warmth of his proximity brought back memories of the dream Bran had described. Ned felt her tense up and quickly asked about it.

"what's the matter?"

Grey eyes met grey eyes. She wanted to tell him. About her dream which she didn't remember. About Brans. But standing there staring into her father's eyes she couldn't bring herself to. She looked away and simply said, "i just miss Jon."

When she looked back at her father, his eyes were glazed.

"Me too," he whispered. "we all do."

"Not mother"

That had clearly stung her father. He released her.

"Im sure she does too." he offered

"That's a lie" Arya let out wealky, almost to herself. "she's the reason he left"

She felt Robb's eyes on her but didn't turn to look at him as she walked out of the kitchen, into the main hallway. She crossed paths with Sansa as she sleepily strolled down the stairs, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"You missed breakfast! Delicious crepes! All gone now!" Arya teased, watching as the lie woke Sansa's senses and she hurried towards the kitchen.

Arya walked into her room and locked the door behind her, feeling exhaustion weigh her down. She fell on her bed, shoes and all and felt her mobile digging at her back. She remembered texting Jon. She pulled it from under the covers, pressing the side button.

No messages.

There never was.

xxxxxxxxxx

**Note**

**Again i apologize for the lack of Gendry/Arya scenes. Im just setting the mood for what will come, trust me, this is a Gendry/Arya fanfic, and they will come together, im just setting up all the ends that will need to be tied up when we hit the crucial scene in the story that will change all these people's lives. Thanks for reading, please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Note:**

**Ok, this takes place a couple of months after the last chapter. The reason i'm writing ahead is because not much happened in these months. There wasn't a lot of Arya/ moments, save for the ones that will be mentioned here. Nothing much going on with the Starks. Besides this brings me closer to the event that changes everything. I think it would be silly if all the events followed one after the other. Plus, i needed to give the hospital the time they needed to finish building that Physical Therapy wing. **

The first time Gendry ever saw Arya, she had left her truck engine still running, climbing out quickly, and had casually trown eggs at her sister.

Gendry had chased her along the highway, and after some struggle, he had handcuffed her and dragged her to his police car. Back at the station, he'd come to the embarrassing discovery that she was his Commander's daughter. His partner Yoren, and Ned Stark himself had assured him he had done his job, yet Gendry couldn't help the shame it brought. As if he didn't get enough shit from the rest of the dept.

But that had been that, and towards the end of the week, other more fascinating events had become the topic of conversation at work, and Gendry and the Stark girl were old news.

In that same way, that Stark girl had been pushed to the back of his head and would have probably stayed there, had there not been a second encounter.

His gym was the last place he had expected to run into anyone he knew, except for the friends he had made there. Out of all the gyms in Sheffield, Arya Stark had to choose this one to comply with her mother's agreements.

Gendry didn't know what had shocked him most. That is was her, or that he hadn't expected to see her twice in one week.

Perhaps it was the fact that seeing her had brought back the memory of Monday's incident. _Should i apologize? Should i say hi...?_

_No you idiot! _

In the end, he had asked the most stupid question he could think of.

Soon Arya had started talking. About yoga, and her mother, and then somehow her crippled brother had been mentioned.

Before he knew it, Gendry had somehow agreed to wrestle her. He recalled the thrill that had crawled to his limbs and settled in his gut at the thought. He felt the aftershocks of it every time he remembered it. But thankfully, she had left. Leaving him restless and feeling like a moron for even considering wrestling her.

Somewhere, in his head, he had made a mental note that he was probably going to be seeing a lot of her since they both had membership at the same gym.

Yet, the third time he encountered Arya Stark, he was shocked all over again.

He had expected he'd see her at the gym again, maybe they'd talk. Maybe he'd be too tired or focused and shoo her off. Maybe she'd try to wrestle with him again, and he'd laugh this time, and reject her. Or maybe he'd be stupid again, and they would succeed this time. He wasn't sure.

The last thing he had expected was to arrest her. Again! He had cursed under his breath at the sight of her. As she realized it was him, her eyes animated with the challenge.

Arresting her would shock him only once more, before it no longer did. After that third arrest (fourth encounter) Gendry's shock had turned into a mixture of irritation and amusement.

On one particular occasion, when they had walked into the station covered head to toe in dirt and scratches, Theon had come up to his desk after Ned had taken the rest of the day off to take Arya home, advising him to cut the act.

"That little bitch has got more miles in her than you can handle Waters. I'd cut the act and just leave her be if i were you. Besides, no one likes a brown noser, least of all people Eddard Stark!"

Gendry didn't recall why he'd punched Theon. Perhaps that he'd implied he was just kissing Ned Starks ass. Or, maybe that he'd called Arya a bitch. She was no picnic but she was not a bitch!

Maybe it had simply been cause he was Theon. _That was probably it._

He still couldn't help consider that perhaps, he should just let Arya be. It was always just her beating someone up, or her trespassing, nothing too serious. _Maybe next time, i'll just let her be._

But he hadn't. Nor the time after that. He was too stubborn to let her get away with it. To allow Theon, and the other wankers to get to him.

Today, however, when he heard the report over his radio, and had taken it, knowing too well it was Arya from the

"_suspect is a white female, dark hair, dark sweater, about 13. destroying private property..." _

he began preparing himself to speak his mind to her. He was trying to survive the crappiest week, and what was cute the first, second, third, fourth, even fifth time had lost it's charm.

He took a left on Winterfell road, which had the oldest houses in Sheffield, being part of the historic area and all, and drove a good mile and a half, before reaching the large abandoned house with the large white barked oak tree. Despite the fact that it was November, the tree still clung to a good part of it's red leaves. He pulled into the drive way, stopping before the large gate. He spotted Arya under the tree. She was throwing rocks at the windows.

He stepped out of the car. "Arya!" he yelled. Hoping she'd hear in his voice that he wasn't in the mood today. She picked up another rock and threw it with force, breaking another window.

"Arya!" He yelled a second time, slamming his door with anger. The gates were unlocked, and he slid one open enough to walk inside.

Jaw clenched, he walked up the hill, towards her, ready to give her a piece of his mind.

She picked up another rock. That's when he noticed she had earphones on.

"Damn it! Arya!" he yelled louder, feeling close enough to be heard over the music.

She spun around, startled, and once again he found himself surprised. Only this time it was because her face was red and wet with tears. He froze.

Arya wiped her face violently, tugging off the headphones, turning away from Gendry. "I don't want to mess around today" she let out, her voice thick from crying.

Gendry felt his jaw clench again, his earlier annoyance back._ Mess around?_

"Im not here to _mess_ around Arya! You're destroying private property. What's wrong?" he tried to sound more calm than he felt.

"It's not private property. This belong to my family! Go Away!"

"And that gives you a right to break the windows?" Gendry felt little patience to argue with her, so before she could answer he walked the short distance between them and reached out for her. She began backing away from him, but before she could run, he had his hand on her shoulders, and he pulled her to him, her back crashing into his chest. With one hand he locked down both her arms and lifted her, feet coming off the floor.

She began kicking the air, and trying to free her hands. Yelling at him with more rage than he had ever seen in her before. She hadn't given him this hard a time since the first time he arrested her.

With his free hand he reached for the handcuffs, which he hadn't had to use on her in a while. Thats when she slammed her head into his face. He saw white for a split second as he fell to the floor from the impact, Arya falling about two feet away from him, landing on her back.

She turned over and began crawling away from him.

Gendry felt the warm liquid pouring from his nose was he turned and crawled after Arya.

His surroundings spun a bit, but he was able to catch her foot and drag her back. He managed to pull her under him and lock her down.

With one hand, he held her down and with the other, he succeeded in placing the hand cuff on her. She struggled and began to kick and he pressed his chest against her back careful not to crush her and whispered in her ear.

"Arya, stop." he pleaded.

She froze under him, then sighed, giving up. She relaxed her body and Gendry exhaled sharply, cursing under his breath, as he stood wiping his sleeve under his nose.

Arya twisted awkwardly on the floor before managing to sit up. Gendry reached down for her then, pulling her to her feet.

They both began to walk downhill towards the gates.

As the wallked away from the tree. something caught Gendry's eye. On the white back, right under the split of the tree, were carved names.

Robb

Sansa

Arya

Brandon,

Rickon

And under it in a different hand, a more child like hand, the name Jon.

Gendry noticed the fresh gashes that had been made over the name with was seemed like a knife or sharp rock.

Outside the gates, Gendry held the back door open for her. She walked towards Gendry not meeting his eyes, sitting on the back seat, leaving her feet outside of the car.

Gendry wiped the blood from under his nose, holding his hand in front of him to inspect it.

"This has got to stop Arya." He whispered after about three minutes of silence. He leaned against the door, exhaling sharply. "Is it attention you want?Cause trust me, you have it! What are you trying to prove?"

When she didn't answer him, he held his hands out in surrender. Her face was unreadable. Her eyes never met his, her lip worried against her teeth in shame, or perhaps anger. Maybe sadness. He found himself wanting to break her. He wanted to break through and find out what made her so reckless and fix it for her.

The feeling overwhelmed him and he suddenly felt drained. He licked his dry lips shaking his head at himself and walked up to her. He leaned over her body and carefully twisted her arms in order to reach the handcuffs. He slipped the key in, and with a click, they were off her hands. When he leaned back, her wide eyes were looking over his face.

"you're letting me go?" she asked disbelieving.

He didn't answer her. He didn't even look at her. He leaned against the open car door looking over to the she didn't move, he stole a sideways glance over at her. She was still sitting there, looking down at her hands.

And then she twisted in the seat, bringing her feet inside the car. "Take me to the station." she told him.

Gendry looked over at her scornfully. They shared an intense stare before she repeated herself with authority.

"Take me to the station."

Gendry rolled his eyes, feeling ready to punch something. He ducked his head in a mock bow.

"As m'lady commands." he let out bitterly and when he raised his eyes to her, he could tell that had pissed her off. Good he thought, as he slammed the door.

He was exhausted. Arya always exhausted him. Both physically and mentally, and today he had reached a whole new level. He glanced back at her through the rearview mirror every chance he could. She just sat there, staring out the window. She looked just as tired as he felt. Her face was streaked in dirt where tears had fallen, her eyes were puffy, and her nose was pink. From the way her lips were puckered he could tell she was clenching her jaw.

He looked away, wiping under his nose where he could still feel bits of dry blood. He could smell the iron too. It was making him nauseous.

"I don't do it for attention. " Arya spoke out suddenly, startling him. His eyes turned to the rearview mirror. She was looking at him through it. "Not really." she added.

"Then why do you do it." Gendry asked carefully. He stole a glance at the light. It was still red.

"Sometimes ill do it because I just want them to give up on me."

That had been the last thing Gendry had expected. He was about to ask what she meant, when the car behind them began honking. Gendry turned and saw the light had turned green, and he stepped on the gas. He was about to speak when Arya said, " I tell myself if i continue this way, they might give up on wanting me to be something im not."

"Sansa." Gendry said.

Arya blinked nodding once. He nodded too, understanding, and he turned over on his seat despite the fact that he was driving, he opened his mouth, about to say something, but thought better of it. Instead, he smiled.

So did she. "That, and other times people just make me mad. So i'll hit them." she added, trying to change the mood

Gendry laughed then, facing forward again. Arya's smile deepened.

"Sometimes people...well, you see, it's so easy to get scared when you don't understand something. So you try and change it. Now, I'm sure your parents love you. They probably just don't understand how so much life can fit into one little person. They know how to deal with ordinary, but _you_ aren't ordinary."

"I am too!"

"No you're not. That's a good thing. That _was_ a compliment, stupid!"

Arya made a face, but didn't say anything. She sat thoughtfully the rest of the ride to the station.

As Gendry pulled into his usual parking spot Arya sat forward in the seat, feeding her face through the open barrier.

"You're different too. In a good way." she said, pulling her head back. Gendry's eyebrows furrowed, confused. He stepped out of the car, opening the back door for her.

"Different how?" he asked.

Arya shrugged, stepping out. "For once, not many guys your age are friends with girls my age. Not that we're friends, but... yea."

Gendry chuckled, slamming the door closed. "Yea"

He held the side door open for her walking into the building after her.

"Good job Waters!" Theon teased from across the room. "He's trained her to walk in on her own free will. She'll be catching the criminals for him next!" He yelled to the rest, laughing.

"Shut up! Just because you never caught me!" Arya said, gaining more laughs than Theon's joke had. She walked past Gendry's desk towards her father's office. She walked into the empty room, before turning around and leaning out the doorway. Yoren was walking out of the lavatory then.

"What've you done this time?" he asked her, shaking his hands dry.

"I was breaking the windows at our old place. Where's father?"

"He's gone home. Something's come up. You should head on over there. You have your truck?"

"I had Robb's car, but its back at Winterfell."

Gendry was about to offer her a ride, but Yoren beat him to it and walked over to his desk to find his keys. Arya crossed over to Gendry's desk.

"Guess i'll see ya." she said awkwardly, feeling the glances of some of the men in the room. She pointed to his nose, "it won't happen again. I promise." she added, almost whispering.

Gendry held a hand up to his nose, feeling the swollen skins.

He smiled, leaning into her. "Don't make promises you can't keep, _m'lady_"

Arya grimaced, shoving him back. Gendry fell back, landing on his chair, laughing as he watched her walk away, towards the exit.

Now he knew what to call her if he wanted to piss her off.

Yoren walked by, towards the exit, giving Gendry an odd look before exiting. Gendry's smile fell as he stood and noticed Yoren wasn't the only one giving him looks. He felt his face heat and quickly walked towards the restrooms. He needed to wash the blood off his face.

**AN**

**This is a Gendry pov chapter, so at this point, just like Gendry, readers don't know why Arya was crying, and breaking the windows at Winterfell. Or why she scratched off Jon's name, but that will be up on the next chapter, which will be an Arya and Ned chapter... i know, Ned? It's needed to get some info out. Sorry this was short, c7 will be up later tonight ! Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

As Yoren pulled into the Stark's driveway, Robb came running out the front door followed by Sansa.

"Thanks for the ride" Arya told Yoren as she unbuckled her seat belt.

"Any time lad."

Arya gave him a stern look which made him smile and wink at her. Before she could open the door herself, Robb had yanked it open.

"Hi Yoren." He gave Yoren a quick then turned to Arya. "Where the hell's my car?"

"Winterfell." Arya let out, before chewing on her bottom lip.

"All the way up there? Oh, i could just-" Robb said through clenched teeth as he wrung an invisible neck in the air. He let out an exasperated sigh, combed his fingers through his hair, clearing his throat.

"Keys." he held out his hand.

Arya closed her eyes. "in the ignition."

Robb laughed nervously, turning to Sansa. "Lets go" he said walking towards her car.

"What happened to your face!" Sansa cried as Arya came into her view.

Arya hopped off the car. "was going for the Sansa look." she told her as she shoved her out of the way and walked towards the front door.

"Thank you for bringing her Yoren." she said before closing the door after Arya.

"No problem." he mouthed.

_Honk Honk_

"Lets go!" Robb yelled from inside the car.

"Bye Yoren." Sansa yelled, running towards the car. Yoren waved at her, pulling put of the driveway.

Even after both cars were gone, Arya waited a few minutes before walking into the house. She knew exactly what to expect when she walked in. She wanted to extend her last moments of liberty.

She walked in to an empty sitting room.

"Arya" came her father's voice from another room. He walked out of the room they had conditioned to be Bran's room after the accident since his room had been on the second floor, and stair had become an issue. Not far behind was Cat.

No one said a word for what felt like minutes. Ned stood before his daughter, trying to find the right words. Cat stood next to her husband, never taking her enraged eyes off her daughter.

Arya didn't look her way though. She went from looking up into her fathers eyes to the floor, then back to her fathers eyes.

Ned sighed deeply before finally speaking.

"Where's Robb's car?"

"Winterfell."

Ned nodded. "And what were you doing in Winterfell?"he asked sternly.

Arya's eyes fell to the floor once again. She bit on her bottom lip. Hard. As hard as she could stand. She unclenched her teeth, meeting her fathers eyes again.

"Smashing windows." she admitted. She felt so embarrassed.

"Oh Arya." her mother whispered putting a hand over her face.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"When? When! When are you going to stop behaving like a child!" Cat huffed out as she lifted her face from her hand looking at her daughter. "You're_ s_ixteen _y_ears _o_ld Arya. It's time you start behaving like it."

Arya felt a shock of heat run through her. Not this again. Why this. Why always this!

Cat took a step forward, as she spoke again. "At 13, Sansa was already..."

"OHHH!" Arya shrieked throwing her house keys at the vitreen to her right, breaking through its glass door. Her head fell. "Sansa" she whispered.

The room grew still as Arya began to weep.

" Sansa!" she repeated, choking on her tears before running up the stairs.

She felt it took her thrice as long to reach her room. Slamming the door behind her she threw herself on her bed, digging her face into the covers and grabbing fistfuls of her bedsheet, tugging and punching at her bed, squeezing at the sheets in her fists as hard as she could.

Her chest heaved as she sobbed quietly into the covers.

_"they know how to deal with ordinary. but you aren't ordinary."_

Arya sniffed hard, as Gendry's words echoed in her head. She began breathing more regularly.

_"you aren't ordinary."_

Arya sat up, wiping her face dry with a shirt that was hanging over the footboard. She let out a shivery breath feeling herself almost fully composed.

_" it's so easy to get scared when you don't understand something"_

Gendry was the last person she expected to think about at a moment like this, but the same words that had comforted her earlier were helping her once again. Arya smiled, surprising herself.

Suddenly the day's events began to weigh down on her.

She needed a hot shower.

She pulled her jacket off, rising off the bed and walking to her bathroom. She slid the shower door open and turned the hot water on.

Walking to the mirror she saw the mess she was. Her face was streaked with dirt. Her eyes were swollen from all the crying. Her nose looked polished and red. Her hair too, was covered in dirt. She looked awful. Perhaps better than she'd looked ealier since her tears from just now had cleaned off most of the dirt from her face.

She pulled the rest of her clothes off. The mirror had already begun to fog. She passed a hand over it, glancing one last time at her face before walking into the shower.

To think that's how she'd looked earlier when she'd been with Gendry.

"Ugh!"

xxxxxxxxxx

"Ugh!"

Gendry leaned into the mirror as he lightly patted his swollen nose with the tips of his fingers. She'd gotten him good. He could already see the beginnings of a bruise under his left eye.

"Ugh!" he groaned again, closing his eyes against the image in the mirror.

He adjusted the towel around his waist before walking out of the steamy bathroom, kicking aside his school bag. He had to study! Final exams for the semester were right around the corner.

These had the toughest months of his life. Trying to adjust to the new job _and_ school. And actually caring about it.

_I'll study tomorrow._

He sunk down on his couch, a bit too quickly as a small lightning like pain struck his nose. He patted at the swollen skin again, remembering the Stark girl, and with the memory, the current of shock he'd felt at the sight of her tear soaked face returned.

_What had she been crying about? _

He'd only known Arya a few months, but not well enough to assume much about her character. Yet he couldn't let go the idea that Arya Stark wasn't one to cry. Yes, she was a girl. A 16 year old girl with uncontrollable emotions. He recalled being 16 and how unpredictable his feelings were.

Thinking about Arya Stark though, crying seemed quite surreal.

She had been crying though. And he found he liked that she could cry. She was this tough, brave little fighter, with more guts than sense. Completely rash and bold. But seeing her cry hadn't weakened his image of her. In fact he found himself pleasantly surprised. In all honestly, it gave her depth.

He sighed. _What could have possibly made her cry? _

He thought back. It used to be her home. He wondered why they'd moved when the house seemed perfect. Ned Stark still owned it.

Who was Jon? He remembered the name had been scratched out. The wounds on the tree looked fresh. Obviously a brother, he assumed, since the names all belonged to the Stark children. However he hadn't been mentioned by Yoren.

All the thinking made him sleepy and he decided to skip dinner and settled for a beer. He twisted the cap off the bottle and walked to his room pulling the towel off him and slipping under the covers. He swigged the full bottle in one swig, then tossing it to the floor.

He flinched at the pain in his nose as he reached over an turned the table lamp off.

_Tomorrow, ill stud_y he thought.

_Maybe i'll ask Yoren about Jon, too. _

xxxxxxxxxx

It was early. A quarter past 8. But the day had drained the life from her.

First the morning's incident with her mum. Then taking Robb's car and driving up to their old place on Winterfell.

She hadn't known what she was suppose to do there until she'd walk up the hill in front of the house and came close enough to the giant oak tree to read the names.

An anger born within her had welled up her and she pulled out her pocket knife and walked towards the names carved on the pale white tree trunk, viciously clawing at the name on the bottom. The tree began to bleed sap, but she could still see Jon's name, so she continued to claw until she couldn't see anything through her tears.

She pressed the back of her left hand to one eye. Indeed, she _was_ crying.

She threw the pocket knife as far as she could. She needed to hit something.

She couldn't remember how she'd gone from crying to throwing rocks at the windows of the house. but she had several windows to keep her busy for a while.

But then Gendry had arrived. After the struggle and the heart to heart, there had been her parents downstairs and then more crying.

Now as she combed through the tangles in her hair, she glanced over at the bed through her dresser mirror. It looked so welcoming.

But then there was the knock on the door, and the memories of earlier. She could jump into bed and pretend she was asleep. Ignore whomever was on the other side of the door.

"Arya" came Ned's voice.

Arya took a deep breath. "come in."

Hesitantly, Ned walked into the room. He was holding a black box in his hand.

She tossed her brush into the half open drawer of the dresser and crossed over to her bed, sitting at the edge.

Ned joined her, setting the box on his lap.

They both stared at it in silence. She'd been preparing herself for this all day.

As much as she hated that it had been her mother that had found out about it first, Catelyn Stark was by far the lesser of two evils.

That, however didn't make this morning's discovery any less explosive on Cat's part.

Jon hadn't been in Arya's dreams in over two years now, so the fresh memories of the dream she'd had the night before felt alien.

She had dressed for school in a daze and before she knew it, she had pulled out the black case from where she hid it in the chimney.

She slid the key in, and heard the click. She shivered, opening it slowly.

_"I have something for you"_

_"A present?"_

_"Close the door."_

_Arya closed and locked the door and when she came to her bed, she saw a shiny black box . Jon pulled out a pair of identical keys. They exchanged a look. _

_Jon slid the key in, and with a click, the case was open for Arya to see. _

_"Is it real?"_

_Jon smiled. "of course it is."_

_She carefully slid a finger over it. "why are you giving me this?" _

_Jon shrugged, closing the case. "i bought it on a whim. It's the only thing of value that i have. I want you to have it. So you can remember me."_

_Arya smiled as Jon handed her the case and keys. She took it, but Jon didn't let it go._

_"I'm trusting you won't kill anyone or anything. Not even Sansa or Bran... This isn't a toy Arya. _I'm_ not even suppose to have this. This is simply so you can remember me." he told her, finally letting go. Arya nodded_

_"I don't even want to think about what would happen if father or your mother found out you had this." he continued while he looked out the window. Cat and Sansa were sitting under the shade of the large red oak tree. Cat carefully placed baby Rickon in Sansa's arms. _

_Jon turned away and back at Arya who had hidden the box under her bed._

_"Better find a better hiding place for that too. No taking it to school for show and tell either. You shouldn't try to rob a bank either. On second thought, maybe you should give it back. " he teased._

_Arya rolled her eyes and smiled. Jon crossed over to her and held both of her shoulders and leaned down, looking into her eyes. "I'm going to miss you"_

_Arya jumped, hanging on to his neck in a hug. She never wanted to let go._

That had been 6 years ago, back in Winterfell.

She had slid her finger into the trigger guard, pulling it out of the case.

That was when the door had opened, her mother gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth. Arya's eyes had grown wide and she placed the gun back in it's case, slamming it closed.

But it was too late. Her mother had seen it. "Arya!" she had yelled.

"Arya." her father's voice snapped her back from her memories.

She looked up from the case to her father.

"Where did you get this?"

Arya bit her lip, rising from the bed. "It was a gift."

Ned nodded. "Jon."

It wasn't a question.

"It's the only thing i have of him."

"This isn't a toy."

"And i'm not a child. I don't want to kill anyone. Jon said i could learn how to use it, when the time was right. I'd never even taken it out of it's case until this morning. Mother freaked and she took it away and i thought i'd never see it again, and it hurt. It hurt because it's all that he left, and he left it with me!"

Ned was back to looking down at the case in his hands. Arya crossed to the bed and sat again, taking in a deep breath waiting for her father to speak. When he didn't she reached for his hands.

"I'm sorry about the windows. After mother took the gun and began yelling, i couldn't take it anymore. I took Robb's car, and drove home."

"This is home, Arya."

"No. It's just a house. It was just mother's way of starting over after Jon had left. After she drove him away."

Ned was shaking his head, clearly angered. "Arya, please, how many times-"

"How many times what? How many times must you repeat a lie before it sounds real?"

"Enough!" Ned huffed out.

Arya froze.

"I miss him too. But Jon's choice to leave was entirely his. He wanted to do something with himself. He wanted to prove to himself he could stand on his own two feet, you know that."

"Yes." Arya whispered.

"Jon was blood of my blood. My love for him, your mother respected it."

Arya nodded. Every time she had brought up Jon she could see how much it hurt his father. She loved him too much to hurt him. That was enough to stop her tongue from uttering stupid stuff she knew she would regret later.

It always left a knot in her chest. The inability to properly discuss the Jon issue because she loved her father too much to hurt him.

He placed the box in her hands.

"I don't want to find out you've killed Joffrey or Sansa." he joked.

Arya smiled weakly. _No promises._

"Your mother and Bran are leaving tomorrow morning. The hospital wing is finished. Your mother wants to take Bran and see how he feels." Ned said suddenly, completely changing the subject,

"Robb will be accompanying them so it'll just be Rickon, Sansa and you. You'll need to give Mordane a hand and behave when i'm at work."

"When will they be back?"

"Depending on how Bran likes the hospital they'll be back on Monday to either pack to stay longer or try and find therapy for Bran here at Sheffield." Ned answered, standing up and walking to the door.

He turned around and look at his daughter. His little fighter.

"Good night love. We'll talk tomorrow. Get some rest"

"Good night." she called, carrying the box back to it's hiding place even though it no longer needed to be hidden. She turned around to see her father still stood at the door. He has a look in his face. Like when you know something is coming but you can't do anything about it, but face it. Embrace it.

"Thanks" she said.

"Don't make me regret it."

He closed the door to her room and walked down the stairs to Bran's room. He was watching the television. Cat had finished packing and his suitcase sat next to door.

He bid him good night and walked to his study, where his wife sat on his desk marking a planner. She looked up at him when he sat across from her.

"How is she?"

"Alright. The gun was a gift from Jon. I'm letting her keep it."

"I should go talk to her."

"No. It's late. It's been a long day for both of you."

"I'm leaving tomorrow, i don't want to leave without first talking to her."

"You can talk tomorrow morning. You'll both be rested."

Cat nodded in agreement, reaching her hand to him over the desk.

"We should go to bed."

Ned kissed her hands. "I have to go back to the station."

"It's late."

"Yoren is waiting for me. It could wait for tomorrow, but he's already been waiting all this time. It won't take long." He told her rising and walking around the desk to pull out the chair his wife sat on, pulling her to her feet.

"You need to rest. Tomorrow will be a long day."

He led her out of the study and down the hall to the feet of the staircase.

"I won't be long." he kissed her and grabbed his keys from the bowl.

xxxxxxxxxx

Yoren was laying on the sofa in the tv room at the station, watching Seven Sinners.

He combed his fingers through his beard over and over again until he began to feel hungry. He stood, stretching, and headed for the lounge room.

Walking down the hall though, he bumped into Ned.

"Though you wouldn't show up."

"I'm sorry. Had to talk to Arya."

"Gendry brought her in again. She was at the Winterfell place. She might have broken his nose."

Ned groaned.

"I knew about Winterfell, but not about the boy."

"He's fine." Yoren assured him as they walked to Ned's office.

Yoren stopped at his desk and pulled from his drawer a folder, fat with papers and a candy bar, and joined Ned in his office.

"How does it look?" Ned asked as he took the folder from Yoren.

"Everything you asked for is there." Yoren sat in the chair in front of Ned's desk tearing at the candy wrap with his teeth.

Ned leafed through the papers, nodding occasionally.

Yoren ate in silence, idly playing with a pen he'd snatched from Ned's desk.

"So why are you lying to him?" he asked nonchalantly.

Ned looked up from the folder. "It's complicated."

Yoren nodded. "I'm sure it is. I mean, you're Ned Stark. You wouldn't be doing this unless you had a good reason. But don't you think he deserves the truth. The man trusted you to find out about his bastard son, trusting only you, and you're faking an investigation when you could have been using that time to find out who and where this boy is."

Ned closed the folder. "It's better this way."

"Alright." Yoren said.

Ned sighed, leaning into Yoren.

"The reason i didn't look into this boy's whereabouts, was because i already had before Robert asked me to."

Yoren's eyebrows shot up. "Oh?"

Ned stood from his desk abruptly and walked to the door closing and locking it.

"Unlike in the research i had you fake," Ned said, sitting back in his chair and stabbing a finger into the folder Yoren gave him. "the boy never died. His mother is in fact dead, but not the boy."

Yoren chewed and swallowed what was already in his mouth , clearing his throat. "Then why not tell Robert?"

"I'm not sure why Robert want's to suddenly find out about this son he never cared about before now. It could be nothing. Mere curiosity, as i hope it is. But since i don't know, i think it's in the best interest of the boy if his father didn't suddenly pop out of nowhere,. That is if Robert had any intentions of making contact."

"Yes, i see. So the boy is alive? And he's doing well? He in no way would benefit from Robert's money?"

"Yes." Ned paused, leaning back on his chair. "The boy is doing well for himself. In fact," Ned hesitated. "you know him."

Yoren gasped, tossing the rest of his candy in the waste basket. "Who?"

Ned looked into Yoren's eyes. "It's Gendry."

Yoren's eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped "Fuck me bloody!"

"Yoren!" Ned grimaced.

"Sorry." Yoren apologized halfheartedly. " But, fuck! Gendry? My Gendry.? Gendry Waters?"

"Yes."

"Fuck me!"

Ned raised his eyebrows and gave him a stern look and Yoren held his hands up in surrender.

"Sorry. How did you find out?"

"Remember the night Theon brought him in? The night the man killed the Broker during that bar fight. I was in the interrogation room with him, and as soon as i saw him... It was as if i was looking at Robert. When we were young."

"Of course!" Yoren exclaimed. "I see it now! The eyes!"

"Everything. It's almost as if Robert cloned him."

Yoren nodded, clearly still in shock.

"It didn't take me long, to find out it was Robert's son. After two days, i had enough evidence. So i went to him. He wasn't leading a good life, but i could see he was a good person. I challenged him to become an officer and enroll in school. As you can see, right now wouldnt be the best time to introduce him to his father. Gendry is just getting his life together. He's learning to be responsible. His baggage is quite heavy. He doesn't need this aswell."

"Yes. I see what you mean now."

"Robert is a good man. He's been my closest friend for years. Knowing him as long as i have, i also know he doesn't always make the wisest choices in life. Not knowing what he intends to do with the knowledge of his son's existence..." Ned sighed. "I just can't help feeling protective over that boy. Even from his own father. It's better this way."

"And if he finds out? Robert. What if he has someone else look into it."

" There's a reason Robert came to me. He has people who could have done this for him. He needed discreetness. I'm the only one he trusts with this. I'll tell him the truth when the time is right. I'll deal with whatever wrath my deceit awakens in Robert. I've always been the only one who could deal with his temper." Ned stood, tucking his hair behind his ear thoughtfully. "No. Not yet. When I do decide to bring the truth to the surface, Gendry will be the first of the two I'll approach."

"Aye." Yoren stood. "It _is_ better this way."

Ned smiled, taking the folder in his hand and coming around to Yoren.

"I can trust you with this." It wasn't a question.

"Oh, I don't know." Yoren joked.

Ned laughed. "Thanks for this." he raised the folder. "I really appreciate it."

"Yoren patted Ned's shoulder.

"I should head home. I have to drive Cat and the boys to the station early tomorrow."

"How long will they be in London for?"

"Depends on Bran. But Cat hopes to be back next week. Which reminds, you'll be there Saturday, right?"

"Sansa's party?"

"Yes, it's on Saturday." Ned and Yoren walked out of the office. Ned locked it after himself.

"Only if there'll be open bar." Yoren called back as he fetched his keys from his desk.

Ned smiled as both men walked out the east parking lot door.

"I'll see what i can do about that."

**AN**

**So, on my last update i said i'd have Chapter 7 up right after chapter 6... I apologize for the awful delay. Life sometimes give us little time. So... Arya has a gun. I know it's not Needle, but it will play the role of it.**

**Ned is lying to Robert. I know this may seem very unlike him, but i think this is the same as Ned changing Robert's will and having him sign it. It's all with good purpose. Ned loves Robert and knows that both Gendry and Robert will benefit little from a reunion. **

**I also wanted to explore the Jon/Ned/Cat tension. It's not given the proper attention in the books/show.**

**I think Ned hates how Jon is treated by his wife but the guilt of putting his wife through having to see the fruit of his infedelity (whether it's really his child or Lyanna's, Cat doesn't know) so he is stuck in the middle and perhaps can't bring himself to approach his wife about it.**

**Anyway, thanks so much for your reviews! They fuel me! Keep them coming! **


	8. Chapter 8

She had 57 missed calls, 26 text messages, and 7 voicemails. All from Robb, Sansa and her parents.

She listened to the first voicemail. It was Robb.

_"Arya, what the heck! Answer the damn phone. Mother is freaking out!"_

Arya deleted it. The next one was Sansa.

_"Mother is worried. Why did you take Robb's car? Can you even drive stick? Arya, please answer."_

Arya deleted that one too. The next one was Robb again.

_"Arya, you little piece of..."_

She pressed delete before it finished. She deleted the remaining messages without listening and tossed her phone on her night table.

Her head throbbed and she felt as though that morning had happened days ago. She had almost lost her gun. Bran was leaving. Sansa was getting married. Everyone was living their lives and she felt as though something was getting in the way of her living hers. Like she needed to leave. Like Jon had.

She yawned, flipping to her side and reaching over to turn off the lamp on her night table. As soon as her head met the pillow, she was out.

She woke in the middle of the night. Her window was open, an aggressive wind making her curtains danced against the ceiling.

She rose and groggily crawled out of bed and stumbled over to the window to close it. When she looked out, she was blinded.

Holding her hand up to shield her eyes, she took a few steps back from the window.

"Arya!"

Her head snapped to the door. The blood drained down her body.

"Hello?" she called shakily.

"Arya."

This time it was a whisper. She ignored the open window and whatever it was that had stung her eyes and walked out of her room and down the hallway until she reached the phone at the end of the hall. It was off the receiver. She froze, staring at it.

_"Arya!" _

She jumped back, almost sprinting for her room.

Instead she stood her ground. The voice came from the speaker again. It called her name.

She grabbed it off the table and held it to her ear.

"Hello?" she said, a bit angry.

_"Arya! You woke me!"_

"huh?" her hand was shaking.

_"yea. You woke me. Well, you woke Ghost. Ghost woke me." _

She could hear the smile in the voice. Her eyes filled with tears and her jaw trembled. "Jon?" she whispered.

_"Hi Arya."_

She slammed the phone on the receiver and was about to run to her room, but when she turned, there was a lion standing right behind her. Eyes watching her intently. Exposed it was her father, on the floor.

He was dead.

Arya began to choke as she woke from the nightmare. She could feel her heart beat in her neck. Her nightshirt clung to her sweaty body and she felt like throwing up.

She rolled over in bed to reach for her phone. It was almost 6 in the morning, but it was still dark out.

She had had another nightmare, only this time she could remember. She looked to the window. It was closed. So was her door.

Why had she dreamt that? Why was Jon in her dreams now! Stupid Bran and his lion dream.

Bran.

She rolled out of bed peeling her nighshirt off and slipping into pajama shorts and a jersey. She poked her head out of her room to make sure no one was awake before sprinting down the stairs. _You're a cat. Light as a cat!_

She reached the bottom floor and sprinted to Bran's room. Getting a firm grip on the door, she turned the knob slowly and pushed gently.

Bran was sitting up in his bed in the dark. Arya gasped, flinching at the sight of him.

"Oh my God, you scared me!" he whispered.

"You too!" she whispered back, closing the door behind her.

"What do you want?" he demanded moodily.

"Why are you up so early?" she asked, sitting at the end of his bed. All she could make out of him was his silhouetted profile. His hair was a mess.

"another dream." he said after a bit of hesitation.

"father?" she asked nervously.

"yes." he whispered back, barely audible.

Arya swallowed hard, taking in a deep shuddery breath.

"me too."

"father?"

"mm hmm."

They both sat silent. His features were becoming more visible as she adjusted her eyes to the dark. He was looking down.

"It wasn't the first time. That morning, when you told me your lion dream at the park, i had a dream too, but i couldn't remember."

His eyes met hers then. "Do you think...something will happen to father?"

She was about to shake her head, but couldn't lie to Bran this time.

"I hope not."

"me too." Bran said laying himself back down on his pillow. "I'll be leaving today."

"I know. Nervous?"

"Scared." he admitted.

Arya laid next to his legs, pillowing her head on them. "Of getting your hopes up? Retuning disappointed. Don't be" she told him sternly.

"If you come back and still can't walk. If they can't help you, at least know you are coming back from trying. You didn't back out. Maybe you were scared, but you weren't a coward. You tried everything you could. Promise me you'll try everything you can to walk again."

Bran didn't answer right away, but Arya lay there patiently. She could feel him thinking.

"I promise." he finally said.

She sat up with a groan. She felt sore from yesterday's struggle with Gendry. Had it really just been yesterday?

"Take care of mom." she said before hopping off his bed and heading for the door.

"And you take care of dad." he called.

Arya looked back at her brother. There was already light coming in through the window and in her eyes he saw determination.

"I will." she said before walking out.

The smell of coffee made her walk to the kitchen. Robb stood half asleep, filling a tall thermos with coffee. He glanced up quickly from the percolator in his hands.

"Robb" she nodded over to him as she walked to the refrigerator and took out the juice.

"Car thief." He nodded back at her. She stopped, placing the pitcher of juice on the counter.

"I'm sorry about your car. Did anything happen to it?"

"Lucky for you, no." he said sourly.

Arya shoved past him to get a glass from the cupboard. "I won't do it again."

He turned to her shoving her back against the counter, making her nearly drop the glass.

"Look, you give Sansa a hard time, it's fine. It's cute. We all know Joffrey's a dick. Yes, you get arrested. We all know Arya can handle her own! She can kick ass if necessary. But don't mess with my shit. What did i ever do to you?"

Arya shoved herself against him angrily. "It had nothing to do with you!" she said, slamming the glass on the counter.

Robb closed his eyes nodding. "I know." composing himself.

Arya's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Mother told me about the gun." he chuckled. "I was with him when he bought it. It's a good gun. He really took care of it."

Arya blinked down.

"We all miss him. But only you seem to be giving mother and father a hard time about it. It was difficult for all of us. I lost him too you know."

Arya sniffed, holding the tears back. Robb leaned in to kiss her forehead.

"Stay away from my car while i'm gone." he chuckled. Arya giggled, punching his arm.

"You'll come down for Sansa's party?"

He shook his head capping the thermos. "Mother will, but i'll stay back with Bran."

"Lucky you!" Arya said under her breath as she poured juice in the glass.

By 8:30 a.m. the luggage and Bran we're inside the SUV and Cat was hugging her children good bye.

"Promise you'll be here for the party." Sansa told her mother as they hugged

"I promise." Cat smiled and kissed Sansa's cheek.

"Rickon my little prince." She said pulling up the small boy into her arms. "Behave. Mind your manners with Mordane and your sisters. Don't forget to miss me."

"Don't _you_ forget to miss me!" he exclaimed as Cat placed him back on the floor, kissing his forehead.

When it was Arya's turn, Cat felt a bit shy and awkward, due to the conversation they had had earlier in the kitchen. Almost right after the one Arya had had with Robb.

"I love you." Cat told her as she pulled her in for a hug.

"I love you." Arya said, breathing in her mother's scent. "Take care of yourself and these two."

"I will." Cat said, pulling away from the hug and walking to the SUV.

Robb was already strapping himself in the co pilot seat and Ned was turning the engine on. He rolled his window down.

"Go on and finish getting ready for school. I'll be home after work. Arya." he called her over. Arya walked up to the window.

"If you can come over to the station after classes." she nodded.

"Do you need me to have someone pick you up?"

"No. I'll take the bus."

"Alright. I will see you then." he told her as he pulled out of the driveway.

Arya joined her brothers and Mordane as they all waved Bran, Robb and their mother good bye.

"We leave for school in 15 minutes." Sansa announced, guiding Rickon back inside the house.

Arya stood there until she could no longer see her father's car. Then walked inside to finish getting ready.

Throughout the day, it felt as though time had slowed and everything took three times as long. She couldn't seem to concentrate at all on her work. All she could think about was the dream, and Jon.

Her mother's words from earlier that morning played in her head over and over again.

"_You can't expect me to love someone that became a daily reminder of your father's infidelity."_

She understood. But she didn't think it was fair. Jon's life had never been.

After class Arya headed to the bus stop, remembering she had to meet her father there. I she paid

'Remember dress shopping today for Saturday. Don't be late.'

Arya groaned, remembering. She didn't want to wear a stupid dress. She didn't want to go to some stupid engagement party. Especially with Joffrey there.

She had promised her mother that morning that she would go. That she would be on her best behavior as a gift to Sansa. "It's her day, Arya." her mother had told her.

_I thought her day was suppose to be the wedding_ Arya thought.

The station was busy when she arrived and for a moment she though her father might not be able to have that talk with her after all.

She walked towards his office, stealing a glance towards Gendry's desk. It was empty. She looked around the room, but he was nowhere in sight.

"Arya."

She spun around, coming face to face with her father. He smiled down at her, kissing her head and guiding her through the crowd to his office.

She tossed her back pack on his sofa and sprinted towards his desk chair.

Ned stared after her, watching as she spun around in the chair. He smiled.

"So," Arya said, stilling herself with the desk. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Sansa. And your resentment." Ned said bluntly.

Arya's playfulness disappeared from her face instantly.

"Do you hate your sister?"

"No." she answered quickly."I just hate feeling as if you all want me to be her."

"We don't. You are all different and special in your own way. Your mother and I, we see how extraordinary you've become. We understand that. We always have. You are meant for greater things." he walked up to her cupping her face in his hand. "You grew up so fast. We're trying to catch up. We've caught up to you. Here I am. Right behind you. Whatever you want to do. Whomever you want to become. You can count on us."

A tear slid from her eye and Ned gently wiped it off her cheek smiling. She rose off the chair and hugged her father, drinking his scent in. He pulled back and looked down into her eyes. There was tears in his eyes and the look in his eyes. The way he was looking at her now, made her for the first time in her life feel like the most beautiful person in the world. Even more beautiful than Sansa.

Ned pushed her aside gently in order to reach his desk drawer. He pulled it open and Arya say her gun case.

It was suppose to be in the chimney. She would have to find another place to hide it incase her father ever tried to punish her by taking it away.

"What do you know about guns?" Ned asked as he pulled the case out of the drawer.

Arya shrugged, caught off guard. Ned smiled.

"I thought so. Well, more like hopes so. Come with me," she lead her towards the door. "There is someone i want you to meet.

Arya had no idea what to expect as her father lead down a long corridor.

When they turned left and walked to the last door on the left she knew exactly where they were going.

Ned held the door open for her with her free hand and Arya walked in.

It was the firing range. Yoren had brought her here before once, a few years back. He had even let her hold his gun. He remembered the excitement she had felt back then. It was fully present today.

A man with thick curls and facial hair walked up to them gracefully.

"Arya, this is Syrio. A friend."

"Hello." she said stupidly. He smiled, taking the gun case from Ned.

"He will teach you a few things about guns." Ned let out as he walked to the door. Arya could only imagine the look she might have on her face right now, to make her father smile that way.

He left them and Arya found she felt a bit nervous.

Syrio opened the case and pulled the gun out, inspecting it for a few minutes, occasionally glancing up at Arya before turning his attention back to the gun.

Arya grew impatient, feeling as though she was being graded based on her gun. She thought about speaking. Asking him what his problem was. But she couldn't let the words out. So she continued to stand there dumbly as he continued to inspect the gun, until suddenly he placed the case down on a table and began loading it.

He turned to Arya with a smile.

"Arya, is it?" he asked with a thick, rich accent.

"Yes" she answered.

"Put this on." he pointed to a headset and goggles with the gun. She walked up to the table and fitted the ear set over her ears and the goggles, both too big for her.

She walked up to Syrio again.

"You are skinny," he pointed out. "that's good. Smaller target."

He gave her the gun and turned her to face the range.

"Shoot."

He said. She'd never shot the gun before. Only held it in her room. She remembered the gun Yoren had lent her. She hadn't shot that one either. She walked up, a few steps and held the gun up with her left hand, cradling her right hand under the grip like she'd seen some of her father's men do before. She focused on her target, and shot.

She flinched back, her wrist bending up, missing the target.

"Don't close your eyes." he yelled

Arya shot again, missing.

"The gun _doesn't_ move _you_. You hold _It_ still."

Arya shot again, missing a third time. She was beginning to feel angry.

Syrio walked up behind her.

"Keep calm." he whispered. Arya relaxed, breathing in deeply. "Breathe. Focus on the target."

Arya focused. In her mind, it suddenly became Joffrey's face.

"Shoot." Syrio commanded.

She shot, hitting it dead center. She felt the goggles move as she smiled.

"Again!" Syrio said.

**AN**

**No Gendry in this chapter. It's mostly a filler. Perhaps i am stalling. The party on Saturday is Sansa and Joffrey's engagement party, and that's when things begin to pick up pace. I have one more chapter left before the party. Chapter 9 will end with the Starks driving to the party, so chapter 10 will get straight to the point. For those of you who are interested, i found a clip of Joe Dempsie as a cop in Blitz. He is wearing a cop uniform and all :D**

**He's just so yummy looking!**

**i'll put the link on my profile, but you can find it on youtube under "Blitz Joe Dempsie"**

**Reviews greatly appreciated and welcome. This is my first story so i would appreciate knowing anything i need to fix or change. So please review. It helps me write.**


	9. Chapter 9

Robb woke to his mobile vibrating and ringing on his lap. It took him a few seconds to wake up and he didn't answer on time.

It was Arya. He called her back.

_"Robb?"_

"Yea."

_"Let me talk to Bran!"_

"Uh...Hi to you too!"

_"Hi. Let me talk to him." _she sounded excited.

Robb glanced over at his sleeping brother. It had been a long day.

"He's asleep."

_"wake him!"_ she demanded.

"Can't this wait? He's had a long day. We all have. I'm sure Dad will explain everything right now. "

Robb could hear his mother talking to his father over the phone outside their hotel room.

_"Explain what?_"

"Just wait for father to tell you. I'm too tired and irritated to talk."

_"I used the gun today_!"

"What?"

_"At the shooting range. Father had this man teach me stuff. He talked a lot, but i did get to use the gun. Tell Bran tomorrow. I want to tell him something Syrio told me. To help Bran be brave. It's an old saying, Syrio said, from way back in the day. He told me the whole story. Tell Bran. If he wakes later its fine. He can call me. I'll be awake."_

"Ok. Alright. Calm down."

_"Sorry. I'm excited."_

"I can tell."

_"I'll let you go then. Don't forget to tell Bran. Good night."_

"Good night Arya."

xxxxxxxxxx

Sansa ended up going dress shopping without Arya. She was upset Arya had missed it, but she was so happy with the dress she found.

She stood infront of her closet looking over her dresses. Maybe she could find a dress for Arya.

As much as she loved shopping she wasn't going to have time to go with Arya. Tonight had been her only free afternoon. She had to meet with Cersei tomorrow to go over a few placings and final details of the party, and Friday she had plans with Joffrey.

She didn't trust Arya to go shopping on her own. So the best she could do is find a dress of hers that would fit and that none of the Lannisters and Baratheons had seen on her before.

It was proving to be a difficult task, but she finally settled on a purple dress with a thin jeweled collar. She was sure Arya would hate it, but she was almost certain it would fit her.

There was a knock on the door.

Sansa set the dress down and crossed over to open the door. Ned and Arya stood in the hallway.

"May we come in?" Ned asked, and Sansa held the door open for them, confused.

She looked over to Arya, but she looked just as confused.

"Come on." Ned called them over to the victorian looking sofa that sat under Sansa's window. The girls joined their father.

"What is it?" Sansa asked, noting the worry in his voice.

"Upon arriving at the London station, your brother Bran had an accident." Ned told them carefully.

Sansa's hands flew to her mouth and she shook her head.

"Another one!" Arya cried_._

_"_His chair. It almost went over the railway. It was just a small loss of control of his chair. But Bran told your mother he felt as though he had been pushed. No one saw anything and your mother and Robb had been busy with the luggage, so they didn't see anything either."

"So he's ok." Sansa asked a bit more relaxed.

"His hands are a bit blistered from trying to stop the chair, and he has a few scrapes from falling off the chair when Robb knocked it on its side. He's mostly just scared though. And he is sticking to his story."

"Well, why else would he almost roll over the edge?" Arya demanded.

Her father gulped and looked into their eyes and Arya knew what he was about to say.

"He might have just lost grip on his chair. Or...he may have intentionally tried to roll himself off."

"No!" Arya cried, rising from the couch. "Bran knows his chair. He has full control of it! And he would never try to..."

Sansa cut her off. "He has been depressed Arya!"

"No! You're stupid! And anyone who believes he ever would is stupid too!" Arya wanted to hit Sansa, only her father had risen and he put his hands on Arya's shoulders trying to calm her.

She calmed her anger, but she still felt like hiting Sansa. _Maybe a nice bruise would go great with the dress she'd bought for her party._

Ned asked Arya to sit again, but instead of siting on the sofa next to Sansa, she sat on Sansa's bed, facing them.

"Even though no one saw exactly how things happened, your mother told me she has a feeling that what Bran says is true."

"Why would anyone try to push him over?" Sansa asked

Ned shrugged.

"Will they come back?"

"Your mother wants to stay. She says Bran insisted. He said he doesn't want to come home without trying. She is on edge though and she doesn't want to leave his sight."

"So she won't be here Saturday?" Sansa face fell.

Arya groaned at her. "Who cares about your stupid party. It's Bran that matters."

"Arya." her father warned. She exhaled, crossing her arms over her shoulder.

"She'll talk to you tomorrow." He told Sansa. "I told you girls so you could say a prayer for Bran. But _please_ don't tell Rickon. You should both get some sleep now."

With that he left and Arya stood heading for the door herself when Sansa called her. She turned to see her sister holding up a purple night dress.

"You can wear this on Saturday. That way you can skip shopping."

Arya wanted to lunge at her. Bran had almost gotten hurt today, and all she cared about was some stupid party. She could rip the dress in pieces. She could pull her lovely red hair until tears came.

But she didn't. She remembered her mother's words and the promise she had made to her about not giving Sansa a hard time.

Their mother would no longer be there for the party. She almost felt bad for Sansa.

"Whatever." Arya shrugged before walking out.

xxxxxxxxxx

Early Wednesday morning Ned had taken his wife and sons to the train station before heading over to meet Robert.

Ned had sat in Robert's study , watching the man read over the report Yoren had faked.

Guilt gnawed at Ned as he saw the disappointment in his friends face. It's for the best, he told himself. _For Gendry._

After he was done reading it, Robert walked up the the window and looked out, lost in his thoughts.

"Well, that's that." he said after a few moments, turning to face Ned.

Ned nodded. "I'm sorry." he told him, his apology offered for a completely different reason.

"Thank you for this Ned. I couldn't trust anyone else to do it." Robert said as he walked up to serve them both a drink.

Ned felt his chest tighten with guilt again.

Robert crossed over to him, drinks at hand. "I'll arrange to meet with my lawyer. I want you there with me. You can be there as a witness." he said handing a glass to Ned.

Ned took it, confused. "Lawyer?"

"Yes. I had the bastard in the will." Robert scoffed at himself. "I needed his name for that reason. I'll arrange an appointment with the lawyer and we can change a few things around."

Ned took a swig from the glass. _Seven hells_!

He had assumed Robert might want to meet his son, but it never occurred to him he might simply want to help him.

Well it was too late now, he thought.

After he'd left Robert's he had stopped at the station to meet with Syrio. He had explained to him the whole Arya situation and the man had seemed oddly intrigued. After Arya had arrived and they'd talked and she'd been introdeced to Syrio, he left them to themselves a few hours.

Upon arriving at home later that night, Mordane had told him to call his wife.

The news of Bran's accident had rendered him sleepless.

This morning Ned still considered taking off to London despite his wife's insistence for him to stay behind with the girls and Rickon.

With all that in his head he had forgotten he had promised to meet Robert and his lawyer at 1.

It was now 1:45.

His mobile rang and Ned answered it without seeing who it was.

"Ned!"

At the sound of his voice, Ned remembered their appointment.

"Robert! I am _so_ sorry. I completely forgot!" he rubbed at his eyes.

Robert laughed. "Where is your head? Ha, no worries. Bloody lawyer's gone. I'm on my way to the station. I'm taking you out for a drink and we can talk family! We _are_ practically family now! We must celebrate!"

He sounded drunk, Ned thought. He was about to politely decline the invitation, but Robert had already hung up.

With everything that had happened, he could use a drink, and a friend. Even a drunk one

xxxxxxxxxx

"Where have you been Waters?"

The blonde called from her desk as Gendry set his stuff down on his, which sat across the aisle from hers.

"Studying." he said. She rolled her eyes. "Yep." he nodded.

"What for, you won't be getting any smarter." she teased.

Gendry picked up a pen off his desk and threw it at her. She laughed, catching it in her hand and throwing it back at him.

Gendry dodged it with a smile.

He liked Brienne. She was new too and they seemed to have a lot in common. They both felt out of place amongst the rest of the team. They both kept pretty much to themselves and they both hated Theon Greyjoy with ardent passion.

Theon had been the one to spread the rumors about her being a lesbian.

Like Gendry, Brienne had already had the privilage of kicking Theon's ass. Although Gendry had to admit, Brienne had done a better job of fucking his face up.

It was after the night at the bar, when Brienne had beat Theon up, that Gendry and her had become friends.

She was quiet and strong. Both physically and character wise. She was smart, and kept mostly to herself. Not asking too many questions, as women tended to do.

Instead, Gendry found himself asking her all the questions. Oddly though, he didn't mind it.

From the amount of time he'd known her though, he was certain Brienne wasn't a lesbian. Being a female cop, she had to fill pretty big shoes. She had to prove she could be as strong, as fast, as brave as any man. She was all of those. But she was still a woman, and most of them never let her get over it. Perhaps that's why she never corrected the rumors.

But he could tell, from her eyes and her smile and awkwardness that she wasn't one. She just seemed like it.

Her short hair and monstrous tallness didn't help though, nor did her lack of makeup.

In all honesty though, androgyny didn't suit her much. It wasn't easy for anyone to ignore her figure, even under the police uniform. She wasn't "ugly", as some of the men called her.

"I'm already on prestige 18 level 3. I haven't seen you online in a while." Brienne called out to Gendry from her desk.

Gendry slid his chair out to see her better. "I know, school is sucking me dry!"

"Right."

"Black ops 2 is out though!" Gendry leaned back on his chair enthusiastically.

She smiled. "I know! This guy i met, he..." she began, but then their attention turned to the front entrance, where a man walked in making a ruckus.

It was the politician. Robert Baratheon. Gendry recognized him from television, but he had never seen him in person. He didn't have as much presence as he did on screen.

When he walked by their desks he turned to Brienne's and smiled.

"Well well." he laughed. "Where are you from my love?"

Brienne looked around, unsure if he meant her. Everyone was looking her way though. She looked up at Robert Baratheon, confused by his question.

She was uncertain of what he meant or how to answer, but she finally did.

"South Downs, Sir." she said in her deep voice. "Hampshire."

Robert licked his bottom lip, looking her up and down. "Well they sure make them large and sturdy in the south, don't they! Look at the size of those trunks." he raised his eyebrows

The room filled with laughter.

Robert's belly shook as he, too laughed. Gendry couldn't see too well around Robert's large body, but he could see part of Brienne. Enough to see her tight fists and scarlet face. He stood.

"What's your problem?" He demanded inching up to Robert. The room went silent.

Robert looked Gendry in the eyes, then around at the rest of the men in the room in disbelief. He chuckled.

"No problem at all."

"Good."

Robert leaned his face in, just inches away from Gendry's.

"Do you have any idea who i am, boy?"

His breath smelled of liquor.

"Do you have any idea how to treat a lady?" Gendry said, not backing out.

The room exploded in noise. Gendry looked Robert in the eyes daringly.

"What is going on?"

Gendry and Robert both turned to see Ned at the foot of his office door. When his gaze fell on them he froze.

"Just chatting up this lad." Robert said, putting his arm around Gendry. Gendry quickly shoved it off and crossed over to Brienne's desk, standing behind her chair.

Ned said nothing. He just stood there looking from Gendry to Robert, and then back to Gendry. He almost looked scared. Like he'd seen a ghost. Gendry had never seen that look on Ned before.

When no one said anything, Robert spoke.

"Car's out front. You ready?"

Ned woke from his trance nodding. Robert started for the door out the same way he'd come in leaving Ned to follow. He never gave Gendry another look.

Ned closed his office door and when he came by Gendry and Brienne's desk, he stopped.

"Everything alright?"

"Yea."

"You're ok?"

"Yes." Brienne answered.

Ned nodded once and he was gone, leaving Gendry, Brienne and the rest of the unit wondering about his behavior.

xxxxxxxxxx

"It's too long!"

"I know, but you'll wear these."

"They're too tall!"

"Must you find something wrong with everything?"

Arya smiled, pleased. "Yes."

Sansa rolled her eyes, handing the heels over to Arya. She made a face but she took them and pulled the dress up at the hem in order to walk to the sofa.

Sansa leaned into the mirror, drawing a think black line over her right eye. "Do you have a date for tomorrow?"

"Rickon?" Arya joked, feeding her feet into the shoes

Sansa placed the eyeliner on the dresser and picked up the mascara, applying a coat. "I can get you one. I have some friends who wouldn't mind."

"Don't be stupid!" Arya cried, rising from the couch, nearly 6 inches taller than before. "Rickon can be my date."

Sansa turned with a smile. "Look at you."

"What about me?"

"You look beautiful."

"I look like a squeezed grape."

Sansa laughed. "Walk to me. You need to practice."

Arya walked, feeling as though she looked like she was walking on glass. When she finally reached her, Sansa looked horrified.

"Just... keep practicing. We'll see how you've done once i get back from my date with Joffrey."

"What! No!"

Sansa ran across the room to grab her purse off the bed, rummaging through it for her keys, before running out of the room and down the stairs.

"Practice, practice, practice." she called out in singsong the whole way down.

"Ugh!" Arya groaned as she heard the front door close.

She wobbled to the mirror and took a look at herself. She almost didn't recognize the girl staring back. Sansa had gotten carried away with the "practice" makeup.

There was no way Arya would allow her to do that to her tomorrow.

The dress fit like a glove. It tied at the neck with a thin jeweled collar, which she liked since it covered her clevage, even if it bared her shoulders. The back was no good though. The dress exposed mostly all of it, up to the small of her back. The heels did a good job with the length though. She just had to walk in them without falling. She let out a raspberry.

"Practice, practice." She told the stranger in the mirror, taking it as a challenge. She liked challenges.

xxxxxxxxxx

The date had started off well.

Joffrey had made dinner reservations, and had gifted her a diamond bracelet, which he'd placed on her wrist from across the table, kissing her hand tenderly.

Sansa loved the attention she was getting from the other tables. Both for the bracelet and her looks.

After the restaurant though, he had taken her to a club. Before she knew it, his hands began exploring her.

She would be married to him soon, she told herself. He will be my husband. Her body would be his.

But she still felt uncomfortable.

Things only got worse when an acquaintance of his gave them some pills.

"You're taking them!" Sansa cried over the music.

"Sure! Aren't you into this?" He said drunkenly as he popped the pill in his mouth and finished his drink.

Sansa's eyes grew wide. "No!"

"Oh. Perhaps that was someone else then." he laughed, holding his palm open infront of her.

"If you're into me, you're into this!"

Sansa nodded, taking the pill and placing it into her mouth before she reconsidered. She took a random drink off the bar and drank.

Things had gone blank after that.

As she sat up on her bed this morning and saw the bracelet on her wrist, she panicked.

She had no idea when when or how she'd gotten home. She searched her memory over and over again, but it always let her go as far as the pill before she couldn't remember anything else.

There was a moan to her left and when she turned she saw the covers stirring. She gasped pulling the covers back.

It was Arya. She squeezed her eyes against the sun light and snatched the cover from Sansa.

"What're you doing here?" Sansa cried with relief.

"Taking care of _you_!" Arya said, muffled by the covers.

"What?"

"Last night. _You_ woke_ me_!" Arya said angrily, pulling the covers tighter around her.

"How did i get home?" Sansa shook Arya.

"Stoop! Let me sleep!" Arya yelled from under the covers. "I was up all night taking care of queen pukey."

"I can't remember." Sansa said to herself, tears forming in her eyes.

Arya made a sound that might have been a laugh.

"Yea. You we're drunk, or drugged or something. Your dress is covered in sick by the way." she pulled the covers off her face. "Sandor. Your boyfriend's man. He brought you home. You called me, i couldn't understand a single thing you said, then he took the phone and told me to come to the back door. You're lucky the dogs have been sleeping in the garage." Arya sat up. "He helped me sneak you in. There was something oddly comical about the sight of him gently tucking you in your bed."

"Oh no!" Sansa gasped.

"Oh yes." Arya said sarcastically as she tossed the covers off herself and jumped off the bed. "By the way, your neck is covered in hickeys." she said before leaving.

Sansa jumped off the bed and ran to the mirror. It was true.

Her skin had red marks on three different spots.

That's when she began crying. This was a disaster! Everything was spoiled!

Tonight was the party and the dress would expose the hickeys. And Sandor had been in her room! And she had no idea what had happened last night.

She fell to the floor in tears. This was the worst day of her life!

She spotted her purse on the floor across the room and she crawled to it. She pulled her mobile out and called Joffrey.

No answer.

She tried again.

_"What?"_

"Joffrey!" she cried out in relief.

_"Yea?"_

"What happened last night?"

_"I guess i was wrong when i thought you could handle the pill."_

"I'm full of hickey's! Sandor brought me home, i can't remember anything!"

_"Shhh! There is nothing to remember. After the club we came to my place. We fooled around a bit, but then you weren't too cooperative, so i had Sandor take you home."_

"Fooled around?" Sansa screamed, enraged.

_"Just kissing and stuff. Look, i've got to go. It's late, i hope you're getting ready soon. You have to look flawless. I'll see you tonight. Bye."_

Sansa stared at the phone in her hand in shock. Her chest heaved once, but she stop herself from crying. There was no time.

She had to get ready.

xxxxxxxxxx

Sansa and Arya had argued until they finally agreed. Arya would wear mascara. _Just_ mascara. That's it.

Her hair was up in a curly, twisty bun thingy. Sansa had spent 40 minutes curling Arya's hair only to end up pulling back into a bun.

Arya looked at herself in the mirror though and she had to agree with Sansa. It looked elegant.

The whole outfit looked good. The only thing Arya could find wrong with it was that it was _her_ wearing it.

It wasn't like her to dress this way. But her promise to her mother made her go through with it. The mascara, the heels, the perfume, the lack of bra. Everything.

Staring at herself in the mirror, an idea came to her.

She walked to her dresser, pulling open her knickers drawer, her gun's new hiding spot, and pulled out the case.

She fed in the key, and opened the case, pulling the gun out quickly.

She walked back to the mirror, almost falling. She was still getting used to the heels, but she had practiced all last night, she was almost an expert heel wearer. Almost.

She pointed the gun at the glammed up Arya in the mirror.

She couldn't help smiling like an idiot. The gun clashed perfectly with the outfit.

She messed around a while. Posing differently. Spinning around on time to face invisible attackers. She killed them all.

She decided she had to take it to the party. It would be the only way she would stand looking the way she did all night; to know that under the dress was a deadly weapon.

She worked at a makeshift gun strap with some of Sansa's bra straps which shed found in the wash room and strapped the gun inside her right calve. Looking in the mirror she couldn't see it. Only she knew it was there.

As she walked down the stairs, she felt amazing! All thanks to the gun.

Their father, who was wearing a suit, complimented all three of them as they came down the stairs.

Sansa had done a pretty great job of covering up the hickeys and had worn her hair down, so no one would notice.

"Arya, i hardly recognized you." Mordane gasped, cupping her face and kissing her cheeks.

"If only your mother could see."

"Father you look so handsome!" Sansa said as she hugged her father.

Rickon too, was wearing a suit. His hair had been slicked back and he was fussing with the sleeves, but he looked great.

Arya felt as if they were all going to prom or some royal dinner or something. This is the most any of them had dressed up.

"Are we ready then, my children?" Ned asked them as he pulled their coats and scarfs out of the coat closet.

"Yes." Sansa answered taking her coat.

Ned sighed, as he handed Arya and Rickon theirs.

There was three other children missing. Arya thought.

This was the first time they'd been so incomplete. She could tell her father was thinking that too.

"Lets go then." He said, holding the door open for them.

"Mordane." He said at the door with a smile. "Don't wait up."

**AN**

**Ah! Im so excited! I've been waiting ever since i started writing this fic for the party scene to come up. I expect it to be the longest chapter so far.**

**After next chapter, the Arya/Gendry part of this fanfic will begin.**

**Sorry it took so long to get there, but i've enjoyed writing the chapters leading up to it.**

**It's helped me explore, not just Arya and Gendry, but other character, like Ned, Yoren, Cat, Sansa and Bran.**

**I've introduced Brienne in this chapter and i'm so excited about her.**

**We also have a little mention of the Hound.**

**Also, EEEKKK! Robert and Gendry meet!**

**This is so off book, i know, but father and son have met, and they rubbed each other the wrong way.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.**

**Funny fact: when i was writing the bit about Arya playing with the gun in her room, Seven Nation Army played on my iTunes.**

**It was priceless.**

**Thanks for your reviews here on FanFic, and for all of the likes on Tumblr**

**Please keep them coming, as i've mentioned, reading them helps me write**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN **

**Ok. This is it. I've been so excited about this chapter and i hope everyone loves it. With hope, it'll be as good in writing as it is in my head. **

**Thanks to all the reviewers. I really appreciate all of your reviews. Special thanks to ****blackeyedbandit****. **

**I had to re upload the entire story and she reviewed the chapters all over again.**

**Ok enough of me. Here is chapter 10! Enjoy!**

Arrangements were, they would go to the Baratheon's, and there they would all head to the party in limousines.

Personally, Arya could have done without all this complicated extravagance, but Sansa seemed absolutely smitten by it all, so for once, she held her tongue and went along with it.

When they arrived, Arya feared the commissionaires would check them, and they'd find her gun, but perhaps since she came with the Baratheons, they let them all go through without bothering to check them.

Walking into Cutler's Hall was like walking into a fairy tale. It was a stepping through the looking glass kind of experience. And they were all dressed for the part. The men in their tuxes, and the women in their long, elegant dresses.

Cersei wore a red dress and her hair was sleeked back into a neat bun looking as fierce as she looked beautiful. She was smilling the entire time, but like always, it never reached her eyes.

Myrcella's light pink dress matured her, making her look Arya's age.

Sansa, as always looked stunning in a strapless pearl colored dress, her red curls falling perfectly on her shoulders.

Arya made a mental note to avoid standing next to her throughout the party, just to avoid comparissons.

They were greeted at the staircase by a uniformed man, and Arya instantly knew this would be a long, "high class" party.

Sansa was glowing, looking from Ned to Arya, before turning to Joffrey.

Arya deeply wished she shared her enthusiasm, knowing too well that it would only make the night easier for everyone.

Robert held his hand out for his wife, and she took it with a smile as they headed up the stairs. Joffrey followed his father's example and offered his arm to Sansa.

Ned walked up to Arya and offered his with a wink. She smiled, rolling her eyes, but taking it and they followed Sansa and Joffrey up the stairs.

Right behind them were Rickon and Tommen, walking side by side with Jaime who's arm was laced with Myrcella's.

Rickon and Tommen were the first to make it to the top, as they'd made a game out of who'd get there first.

Ned was quick to give Rickon a warning look before they prepared to walk into the hall.

The first thing Arya noticed was the quartet set up on a stage at the end of the room. They were playing Coldplay's Clocks, which Arya had never personally liked. Played by a quartet though, made her change her mind.

There was portrait paintings all along the walls, between marble pillars. The ceiling was vaulted, and from it hung chandeliers. She really had stepped through the looking glass. She wouldn't be surprised if the Queen herself had been invited.

The hall was already full of guests. Most of them people she didn't know. The few she did, she had only met vaguely. They all turned as soon as they walked in and began applauding, either for Joffrey and Sansa, or Robert Baratheon. Arya wasn't sure.

Robert and Cersei both waved courteously, Joffrey walking a few steps behind them, smiled and nodded smugly.

Arya instantly felt uncomfortable, even with her father right next to her. She saw as people looked her up and down, and noticed as shock filled the faces of the few she knew upon recognizing her.

She avoided eye contact as they walked to the back of the room towards the stage. Once they reached their tables, the quartet had reached the end of the song, and the applause had ceased.

A man Arya had seen on television a few times walked up the stage and introduced the couple bringing everyone to applaud once again.

Another man came on stage and annouced dinner, and everyone took their seats and the quartet once again began playing, this time it was Hey There Delilah.

Arya noticed throughout the night that they played all of Sansa's favorite love songs.

Arya's seat was between Jaime and Tommen. As she sat, her eyes grew wide with shock at the sight of her table setting. There was easily over six pieces of silverware, and five different glasses.

To her left, Tommen grabbed the napkin and placed it on his lap before reaching for his place card with plump fingers. He couldn't reach and nearly knocked a glass over. Arya reached for it, placing it on his hand. She noted their table was set differently and she was thankful they'd remembered she was left handed.

_Not that it matters. _She had no idea how to use any of this. She wished now she hadn't dropped out of the etiquette classes, if only it would have saved her from the glares she was sure she would get during dinner.

"_It's like a battle_."

Arya turned to Jaime, who had leaned into her to whisper.

"What?" she wrinkled her nose, confused.

He was delicately fixing the napkin over his lap. He turned to her with a smile.

"Like a fight. Imagine you're to fight. You have to be prepared with the proper weapon." he said, nodding to the server who placed a raw looking pink roll infront of him.

Another server placed a plate with chicken and black pudding terrine in front of her.

"If you were to fight a bear, you wouldn't face him with a dagger, would you?"

"I could kill a bear with just a dagger. Couldn't you?" Arya said daringly.

Jaime smiled. "You know what i mean, you little smart ass!"

Arya smiled smugly.

"Like that, for example." he pointed to her food. "Which one would you use?"

Arya looked over the forks, before pointing at the smallest one. Jaime shook his head.

Arya scoffed."Which one then?"

He picked up a knife and slide it over his terrine, spreading it on a tomato toast. Arya rolled her eyes.

Jaime continued to help her throughout the dinner, not keeping any comments to himself. Arya never liked the guy, but tonight he seemed pretty decent. For a Lannister.

After dinner, they dimmed the lights, leaving on the candles on the table and the pale pink lights that lit the pillars along the wall.

The quartet got off the stage and an unseen dj began playing music. Couples were quick to fill the dance area at the center of the room.

Arya was left alone at the table with Tommen, Rickon and some other boy she didn't know.

Her thoughts trailed to her gun. She could feel it there. Against her skin.

She had done a good job of securing it on, so she hadn't had the need to go and adjust it in the ladies room. That she was glad of.

She always hated going to the restroom at parties like these. They were always packed with girls fixing their hair, dresses or makeup.

Arya was sure she could empty out the restroom by merely pulling out her gun. She smiled.

From her seat, she spotted Joffrey and Sansa dancing gracefully. Everyone around them who wasn't dancing was smilling at them.

Sansa looked happy.

Behind them, she could see Cersei dancing with Jaime. Sansa and Joffrey were no match for them.

Song after song played, and couples came and went from the dance area at the center of the room. Few, like Joffrey and Sansa, never left it. Joffrey's dwarf uncle, Tyrion never missed a song either, though he danced with a different girl every other song, making vulgar faces at each of them, bringing smiles from them, Whether they were young or old, they all seemed charmed by him.

The music was cliched. But then so was this entire ordeal. This was merely the engagement party, though, and Arya reminded herself she still had a wedding to surive. She groaned at the thought.

Not one of her favorite songs had played. Not one of her favorite artist, and this was beginning to make her feel even more restless. She had already chewed off all of her nails, and having her gun at arms reach but not being able to take it out was torturing her.

She had also grown weary of the glances she was receiving. She had already rejected a guy who came walking up to her with a smile and every intention of asking her to dance plastered on to his stupid face. Arya glared at him and shook her head stiffly, trying to save him the trip, but the idiot was as stupid as his face and he walked all the way up to Arya anyway, holding his hand out to her.

"May i have this dance?" he had asked, and Arya had told him she was allergic.

The guy had smiled, perhaps taking Arya for a tease.

"To dancing?" he was flirting.

Arya smiled and had leaned into him, making sure he heard her clearly.

"No, to morons."

The expression on his face had been priceless. Perhaps the highlight of her evening so far.

Now though, she noticed the guy talking to some friends and glancing her way. She rolled her eyes and stood.

She decided to head down to the cloakroom and fetch her mobile from her coat.

The hallways were pretty empty except for a few staff and the men at the door, who smiled at her courteously as she walked past them towards the cloakroom. She found her coat and dug though the pocket. It was a quarter past 9.

_You have got to be kidding me!_

She had a missed call from Robb. She called back.

"_Arya_."

"Mom"

_"Hi dear. How is everything."_

"It's...perfect. You would love it."

_"Any family?"_

"Not that i've seen."

_"Of course. How does everyone look?"_

"Like royalty. I'm wearing a long dress and 20 inch heels. I look like a real lady."

Catelyn laughed. _"I'm sure you look beautiful. Take pictures of everyone. I want to see them all when i get home."_

"I could send them Robb's phone, if you'd like."

_"That sounds excellent."_

"Alright. I'll go take them right now. I need something to do, i'm dying of boredom."

_"I'm sure you are!" _Catelyn laughed out.

"Sansa is enjoying herself, though. That's what matters."

"_ Thank you. For doing this for her. I know it isn't easy for you, so thank you For trying."_

"It's not so bad. Not really. I even got asked to dance."

_"You danced?"_

_"_No," Arya laughed. "But, i got asked to."

Catelyn laughed again. Arya hadn't heard her laugh so much in a while. She could hear in her voice though, that she was weary, and that she missed home. That she missed them all. Her voice sounded just the way it did when she called them during their trip with the Baratheons.

Longing.

_"I love you Arya. Give everyone a kiss for me. Congratulate Sansa for me. I tried her several times, but i don't think she has her phone."_

"I will."

_"Alright. Good night dear. Don't dance too much, now." _Arya rolled her eyes._ "I'll be waiting for those pictures. I love you."_

"I love you too. Goodnight."

Arya hung up and walked back up to the party, taking her time up the stairs.

She stopped right before walking back into hall, and began to type a text.

_"You should be here with me, Jon." _

She pressed send and walked in through the doors.

"Ok, let's get this over with."

xxxxxxxxxx

"My uncle Jaime fights dragons." Tommen boasted proudly to Eric, the boy who sat with him and Rickon, who in turn squinted his eyes in disbelief.

"You're full of shit!" Eric cried.

"He does! He fights men too. They wear masks and the swords have a safety tip, but he has other swords. With those he kills dragons! He told me so himself."

The boy, Eric, rolled his eyes and shaking his head. "Dragons aren't real."

"Yes they are!" Rickon and Tommen both said at the same time.

"Are you calling my uncle Jaime a liar?"

"Yes. You and him both!" Eric said daringly.

Tommen's eyes filled with tears and Rickon quickly turned Eric's attention from him.

"My grandfather has a mansion in Spain and he has a room full of old things he's collected during his travels. He keeps a fossilized dragon egg in a glass case. It's this big!" Rickon stretched his arms as far as he could to show Eric and Tommen the size of the egg.

His right hand hit something and when he turned, he saw he had knocked over a tray from a server's hand.

"Damn it!" the girl complained as she went down on her knees to pick up the deserts from the floor. Rickon slid off his chair quickly joining her on his hands and knees, helping her with the food.

"I'm sorry." he said, picking at the small cakes quickly.

"It's fine," she held stopped his hand with hers. "don't trouble you'self." she told him in a thick, northern accent.

He pulled his hand away gently and continued to pick up the small frosted cakes and the spilled desert shots, placing them on the tray that sat on the floor between them.

She looked upset, occasionally glancing around her.

"I'm sure no one noticed." he assured her.

She clicked her tongue. "Like no one not'iced me spill that woman's drink earlier."

"You're new?" he asked, handing her the tray with the food they'd picked up.

"Can you tell?" she smiled. He shook his head impishly.

"Wanna know a secre'?" she whispered leaning into him.

He nodded, leaning the rest of the way, so his ear came right by her mouth.

"I'm really jus' a undercover princess. That's why i don' know shit about serving."

Rickon giggled. She must have heard their dragon banter.

"pleasure to meet you, princess." he whispered with a smile.

She smiled too, and it reached her blue eyes. She looked down, pretending to be coy. "Pleasure's all mine littl' lord."

"Rickon!"

They both turned up to Arya, who was standing over them.

"What did you do?" she asked as she helped him stand. She turned to the server girl as she stood. She had wild dark hair and looked out of place, despite her server uniform.

"It's a'right, It was my mistake." she told Arya while turning to Rickon and smiling.

"Osha!" a server called from another table. The serving girl walked up to him without another word.

"Mother wants a picture." Arya told Rickon as she took a napkin from the table and dipped it in a water glass. She handed it to him.

"You have something on your sleeve." she said.

Rickon took the napkin and wiped at the smudge of candy.

"Hold still" Arya told him, as she took the picture. She took another since the first had come out blurry. By then Osha had returned with a tray full of new deserts and she placed one in each of the other boy's plate, and two in Rickons.

The boys ate theirs quickly. They were now arguing about video games.

"Are we leaving soon?" Rickon asked Arya.

"I hope so, but i doubt it." Arya made a face and took a raspberry cake off of Rickon's plate.

"Hey, that's mine!"

"I didn't see your name on it." Arya taunted childishly.

"It was on my plate."

"Well now it's in my stomach." she stuck her tongue out and left in search of Sansa.

xxxxxxxxxx

The lights were dim, her favorite song playing in the background, her cheek gently resting against Joffrey's as they slow danced to "their song".

It was the perfect moment.

She took in his scent, savoring the moment. She wanted to remember every detail. His warmth. His arms around her. The shade of his eyes in the dim room. Everything.

She pressed her lips lightly against his cheek, planting a delicate kiss.

"I love you." she whispered.

He pressed himself closer to her at that, sighing through his nose. Sansa smiled.

Suddenly her eyes popped open when she felt his hands slide down her back and rest on her ass.

She pulled away quickly, turning around to see if anyone had seen.

A few girls were giggling from a table, and a few other people, thankfully no one she knew, were staring at them.

She felt her face heat with embarrassment. Joffrey rolled his eyes at her.

"What now!" he said, clearly annoyed.

Sansa didn't think twice before grabbing his wrist and pulling him around the dancing couples and through the crowds of people and tables towards the main exit.

Out in the hallway, two men talking forced her to find another place to talk.

Joffrey muttered and complained the entire way until Sansa pulled him into a smaller unused hall across from theirs.

"What the fuck is wrong with you!" he spat as she slammed the door behind him. She turned to look him in the eye.

"What is wrong with you! I have friends in there!" She pointed to the door. "My father, my brother and sister. Your family is there. What gives you the right to grab me like that!"

"Hey!" he yelled just inches from her face. "I'm practically your husband."

Sansa gasped in disbelief. "So that gives you the right to humiliate me." she replied though clenched teeth. "To just drug me and try and take advantage of me, like last night!"

He grabbed her throat with his hand and pushed her until her back slammed onto the wall. She gasped with pain, closing her eyes and turning away from him.

With his other hand he grabbed her face to make her face him. "Look at me!" he whispered violently, his hot breath fanning against her face. He had been drinking, she noted. She opened her eyes, slowly bringing the up to look into his.

"You belong to me! That's what marriage is about. That's all the mother fucking right i need!"

Sansa couldn't believe what she was hearing. She couldn't believe this was really happening. On her engagement party. This was suppose to be a special night.

But with Joffrey's hands tight around her neck and face, and her heart hammering agaisnt her ribcage in fear of him, it was more like a nightmare. She had no idea who this man was, and why she wanted to marry him.

She fought the tears, but they were too quick to well in her eyes.

"Not if I don't marry you." she whispered, as they rolled down her cheeks. He tightened the hand around her neck.

"What did you say?"

She shoved him away from her, using all her force fueled by her sadness and anger.

She wiped at her tears, walking around him, never giving him her back. "Maybe i don't want to marry you! Not if this is what I'm getting myself into."

Joffrey turned away at that.

Sansa stared at his back, waiting. He said nothing. She had expected her words would earn her a slap. She had prepared herself for it. But instead she was just left to stand there, staring at his back.

The moments passed in silence, until he finally spoke.

"Go then!" he choked out. _Was he crying?_ "Go tell everyone out there the wedding is off! Tell them my love wasn't enough for you. How could it be?"

He _was_ crying.

Sansa let out an exasperated breath, taking a step towards him.

"I try!" he yelled as he turned to face her. His face was wet with tears. "I try to be good to you. I buy you things. Last night, i wanted it to be special. I wanted us to celebrate our engagement our own way. I'm sorry, Sansa, that i let Sandor take you home. It should have been me." he sniffed thickly. "I'm sorry i'm not good enough for you!"

Sansa took another step towards him. Joffrey recoiled from her. "Go!" he yelled, his voice thick with mucus. "Everyone is already here!" he pointed towards the door. "Go tell them all that i'm not good enough for you! Tell them you don't love me." he shrieked as he fell to the floor.

Sansa ran to him, hugging him against her chest. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I don't know what came over me. I love you! Of course I love you! You're my whole world. I was just being stupid. I'm sorry!" she began to weep, hugging him tighter.

She had forgotten how sensitive Joffrey was. How insecure he felt. How much love he needed.

They stayed that way a few minutes, until she was sure he was calm. She pulled away and made him face her, kissing his face lovingly.

"Better?" she whispered. He nodded as he stood, clearing his throat.

"You shouldn't have seen me that way." he said as he fixed his jacket.

Sansa rose off the floor with a smile. "It's fine. We'll be married soon. We're suppose to be comfortable enough to cry in front of each other."

He gave her a sideways glance. "I thought you didn't want to marry me."

"I was just being stupid. I don't know what came over me." Sansa said quickly.

He walked up to kiss her, wrapping her in a hug. "Probably the same thing that came over you last night." he said between kisses.

"Im sorry" she whispered against his lips. "It was probably just the drugs."

"I didn't think Sandor driving you home would have upset you so much. You don't have to be afraid of him. He's a good dog, does just what his master tells him. You should start getting used to him being around."

Sansa shook her head. "He doesn't upset me. I'm not scared of him. It's just odd how he's always with you."

Joffrey shugged. " He's good to have around."

Sansa giggled. "To intimidate the big nasty bullies for you." she joked.

Joffrey wrinkled his face in disgust, no longer hugging her. "What's that suppose to mean?"

"Nothing." Sansa said quickly. "It was just a joke."

Joffrey scoffed and rolled his eyes, walking to the door. "We should go back before you say some other stupid thing and ruin the moment." he held his hand out for her and she took it as they walked out of the room.

"My ass does belong to you, you know." Sansa said sweetly while hugging his arm. Joffrey smiled. "Just don't give it so much attention in front of others. Especially family."

"Afraid they'll get jealous?"

"Something like that." Sansa said with a smile. Joffrey suddenly spun her around so her back was against the doors to their hall.

"Well, there's no one here to be jealous." he said as he began to kiss her neck. Sansa giggled.

"Joffrey," she laughed. "We can't." she whispered, but she didn't push him away.

He kissed his way up her neck all they way to her lips.

Sansa felt her insides coil with desire as he deepened their kiss. She dug her fingers through his hair, pulling him closer. Then the hall doors opened.

Joffrey pulled away quickly, his face flushed from kissing. Arya stood at the door, wide eyes going from Sansa to Joffrey.

"What do you want?" Sansa demanded angrily.

"Mother wants a picture." she held her phone for Sansa to see.

Sansa huffed, but began fixing her dress. "be quick about it." she told her.

"I'll be inside." Joffrey said, walking around Arya towards the door.

"Don't you want to be in the picture?" Sansa called.

"I'm fine." he said, and disappeared into the hall.

"You two are disgusting." Arya said as she searched for the camera in her phone. "that could have been father, or Rickon."

"Just take the picture! And i want to see it before you send it."

"I want to see it before you send it." Arya mocked her childishly and snapped the picture.

"Let me see." Sansa called after her. Arya was already walking back into the hall.

"You look fine!" she yelled back, though she probably didn't hear through all the music.

Her feet were really beginning to ache now. One more picture left and she could sit. She wanted desperately to get home and yank them off her feet and shoot a few holes in them.

Her father wasn't dancing, and she hadn't seen him by the bar. She was having a hard time seeing anything, as most towered over her, despite her heels.

Finally, she spotted him at the end of the room with Robert.

She began walking to him, but by the time she got there he was walking out the back door into a hallway with Robert and another man she didn't know. She spotted Cersei a few feet away.

"Where are they going?" Arya asked her. Cersei lifted a shoulder and swigged the rest of her drink, placing the empty glass on the tray of a walking server and taking two full ones from it.

"Business, i suppose." she let out uninterestedly, offering her one of the drinks and taking a sip from the other. Arya shook her head at it.

Cersei narrowed her eyes at her. "How old are you, child?"

"I'll be 17 soon."

"Then what's the problem?" Cersei asked offering her the glass once again.

"Don't like the taste."

Cersei laughed, finishing her drink in one gulp. "You don't drink it for the taste. You drink it to forget." she said handing Arya the empty glass and walking into the crowd.

Arya looked down at the empty glass in her hands, weirded out by what had just happened.

"Drinking?"

She looked up to see Yoren. Yoren in a tux! His hair sleeked back in a half ponytail

She smiled, setting the glass down on the table to her left. "No." she told him.

"And not dancing either. What the hell'r doing here then?"

"Torturing my feet." she pulled up her dress to show him her left shoe, careful to keep her gun concealed. He laughed.

"Sansa did a good job though. Almost didn't recognize you. You actually look your age for once." he teased.

"You clean up well too." Arya tugged at his jacket's lapel. He pulled off a suit rather well.

"I'm looking for your father."

"So am i. He went in there, with Robert and some man."

Yoren's gaze followed where she pointed. "hmmm."

"yea." Arya said.

"Honor me with this dance then? While we wait." Yoren said, holding out his hand for her.

She had refused three guys already, and Jaime Lannister who had the audacity of assuming his help during dinner was enough to make her dance with him.

"I can't dance. I look stupid." she told Yoren, trying to be polite about it.

"Me too!" he said, taking her hand. "Lets look stupid together."

Arya rolled her eyes but allowed him to lead her into the dance area.

He wasn't lying when he said he didn't know how to dance, but they were pretty safe about it, sticking to light swaying. By the end of the song, Yoren excused himself to get a drink, leaving Arya alone again.

Another song didn't follow, instead the stage was lit and everyone began to applaud as Robert walked up there, followed by Cersei Joffrey and Sansa. Arya searched for her father and found him standing at the side of the stage.

Robert raised a hand to quiet the crowd as he walked up to the podium that had been placed at the front of the stage. The man that had introduced them brought up a microphone for Robert.

"How are we all tonight?" Robert asked into the microphone. All the guest began to cheer and clap. Robert smiled. "I want to thank you all, on behalf of my wife Cersei and I for being here on this special day with is a special moment in the life of my son Joffrey and my soon to be daughter in law Sansa and i feel honored that you've all taken the time to be here to share it with them."

There was more cheering and applause. When it died died down, Robert began talking again.

"Over the years, I have seen my son, Joffrey..."

Arya flinched at the sound of three shots that brought silence for about a split second before scattered screams were heard from all over the room as everyone looked around the up at the stage were Robert fell forward, against the podium. It slid forward under his weight and off the stage, and on top of it, Robert's body.

Sansa's scream pierced the air, and everything happened very quickly after that.

Sandor ran on stage and grabbed Sansa protectively, carrying her off the stage, Joffrey ran alongside him, shielding himself behind Sandor.

Cersei too was being dragged off to the other side of the stage by her twin brother Jaime. People began pushing their way towards the main exit. Children cried, women yelled out names, men gathered their families. It was a cacophony of panic.

Everyone pushing. Faces slamming into faces, people falling to the floor, while shoes and heels stepped over their bodies. It was madness.

Arya's eyes searched near the stage for her father, and finally spotted him standing right by the stairs. He was staring right at her. He was about to signal something to her, when a man came to him and punched him.

Arya screamed, but amongst the rest of the screaming, not even she heard herself.

She stretched her neck desperately around the heads of the people pushing their way towards the exit, but when she spotted her father again, he was being dragged out the back exit by two suited men.

Everyone was pushing against her, towards the front of the room as she violently shoved opposite of them towards the back of the room. It felt like swimming against the waves.

When she finally made it though, half the hall had emptied out. She ran through the back door and down the long corridor, her father and the men where nowhere to be seen.

She stopped for breath, leaning for support against the wall. There was no sign of them. She had lost her mobile during the chaos sand had no way of calling for help. She bent over and fought with the strap on her leg, pulling the gun free of it. Turning the safety off, she began running down the hall again, her ears and eyes alert for any sound, any sight of anything.

A few meters down and corridor ended leaving her two options. Another corridor that went left, or a door.

As soon as she heard the screams coming from behind the door, she grabbed for the door knob. It was unlocked.

It opened to a stairway going down. By the looks of it, it lead to the basement. She could hear the screams louder now.

"Tell me where it is!" she heard a man yell.

"I don't know." It was her father. Arya's insides clenched with anger. She closed the door behind her.

"You're not talking huh? He's not talking!" the man laughed before she heard what sounded like someone being kicked, and then Ned's sudden sharp intake of air. He began to cough.

Arya walked down the stairs as quietly as the heels allowed. It was too late to take them off now.

Her palms were sweaty, but she held the gun tightly, her finger ready at the trigger.

"Look, Martin is dead, my friend Mikael here just put a few holes on Robert, so he's as good as dead. You are the only one that can tell us where that will is, so we can do this the easy way, or the hard way!"

Arya had reached the bottom of the stairs. There was a short empty hallway with three doors along its wall, but Arya could tell the men held her father right around the corner at the short corridor. She began to make her way quietly towards the end of it, the voices becoming clearer.

"I have no idea where it is, and if i did, i wouldn't tell you." Ned said between gasps.

"Wasn't there a boy with you? Also those two lovely girls of yours." a second man which hadn't spoken before said.

"That's right!" cried the first voice. "Sansa, the bride to be, and the other lovely dark haired girl.

"Don't you dare!" Ned yelled before the air was kicked out of him.

Arya was at the edge of the hallway, her back against the wall. She leaned her cheek to the wall, and slowly slid it to the end, just enough to take a quick peek.

Thankfully the men's backs were to her. _Idiots_. She thought.

Her heart nearly stopped when she saw her father. There was blood all over his face. In his mouth and from over one eye. The other eye was already beginning to swell. Her chest heaved with pain at the sight of him.

Then Ned looked up and for a second their eyes locked before she pulled her face back behind the wall. She looked down at the gun in her hand. _I can do this. You can do this, Arya. _

"Your birthday." Ned called out weakly. Arya froze.

"What?" the second man yelled, kicking Ned. That was when Arya walked out from behind the wall, hand stretched forward, pointing the gun at the backs of the two men.

Before she could do anything though, a hand came over her mouth, and another around her arms, locking them to her waist and pulling her back into the smaller hallway and towards one of the door along the wall. It was some sort of closet.

Arya kicked, but the arms were strong and she was pulled inside quickly, and the door was closed. She fought against the man until he came around her into view. It was Yoren. He pushed his hand roughly against her mouth.

"Shut up." He mouthed, taking the gun from her hand.

Arya tried to push herself around him. She had to save her father. He took his hand off her mouth and shoved her against the wall of the closet. He was about to say something, when three shots rang in the air.

Arya pushed Yoren to the wall with all her force and ran out of the closet and around the corner of the corridor. Her father was on the floor, coughing out blood, while more blood began pooling around him. The men turned around to face her. One raised his gun to her.

Then a shot rang right next to her.

Then another, and both men collapsed to the floor.

Arya stood there in shock as Yoren stepped beside her, her gun pointed at the dying men.

She ran to her father then, dropping to her knees next to his body. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came. Only blood splurted out.

"No!" Arya let out in anger, her hands searching for his wounds. His eyes were gazing up at her, speaking what his mouth couldn't. He coughed once more, before they closed slowly.

"Yoren!" she called over her shoulder in panic."Daddy!" she yelled as she tried shaking her father awake. He wouldn't open his eyes. He wouldn't wake up.

Two arms were around her then, pulling her away. She began to shout in protest, but the arms were too strong.

Yoren forced her to face him.

"Look at me. Look at me!" he yelled at her, holding her face tightly. She didn't want to. She couldn't open her eyes. He slapped at her cheek until she did.

"Look at me. Yes, that's right." he said, looking down at her eyes sadly.

Men could be heard yelling from up the stairs. That's when Yoren lifted her off the floor and ran towards the end of the hall, away from the stairs. Away from Ned's dead body.

He opened a door he hoped was an exit. It wasn't. It just led to another hall. _Bloody hell._

He ran down it, as Arya clung to him.

Her father was dead. He was really dead. She closed her eyes against the image, but it only became clearer.

Yoren stopped running suddenly.

"Oi! You're not suppose to be here!"

Arya looked up and saw a young man standing before them. He looked like security. He pulled out a radio and spoke into it.

"I found her. She's with the cop." he said, looking at them.

Radio:

_"Alright. Bring her in. We've found the shooter. He was found dead in the basement, along with two of Baratheon's security guards. It's confimed. It was Ned Stark" _

Yoren dropped her on her feet and before the man could say another word, and shot him straight in the chest.

Arya walked back, ready to run, but Yoren quickly caught her arm.

"Grab his arms." he told her.

She stood there confused, still trying to recover from everything that was happening.

Yoren took her shoulders and shook her, and spat to his side.

"You want to die? Is that it?" he pulled her gun out and pushed it against her head. "I'll save you the trouble, and shoot you right now, if that is what you want!"

He pulled the gun away from her and shoved her towards the dead body on the floor.

She grabbed the hands, and they both pulled the body into a utilities closet not far from where Yoren had shot him.

Inside bent over the dead man's pants, unbuttoning them.

"Take your dress off." he barked back at her.

Arya had known Yoren all her life, but she had never been afraid of him. Right now she felt as though she were in a room with a stranger. She had no idea what he would do next.

"Now!" he yelled, yanking the pants off the corpse and throwing them at her.

Arya grabbed the pants and pushed her legs into them, as she watched Yoren work at the man's shirt.

She unclapsed the back of the collar of her dress and turned her back to Yoren as she slid off her body. It was soaked in her father's blood.

Yoren tossed the shirt back at her, giving her his back as he opened the door a small fraction to peek out through the crack.

Arya began to button the shirt while she kicked the heels off. The blood on the shirt was still fresh and it stuck to her back and chest.

Yoren closed the door and turned to face her. He dug through his pocket and came out with a pocket knife.

Arya's eyes grew wide as he opened it and grabbed her bun and began sawing at her hair.

"What're you do..."

"Shut up!" he whispered, continuing to saw, glad he'd had the knife sharpened a week ago. Arya closed her eyes.

When he was done he wrapped her hair and the heels in her dress and stepped up on a shelf to reach the ceiling tile. Pushing it aside, her threw the bundle inside, sliding the tile back in place.

"Put his shoes on!" he commanded pointing to the shoes, and walking to the door to take another peek.

"They're pinning the attack on your father." he whispered to her.

Arya's eyes snapped up. "What?"

"Shh... we need to get you out of here. The Lannisters are behind this, i would bet my cock on it."

"Sansa. Rickon, we can't leave without Rickon."

"They've got her. Rickon was with the youngest Baratheon. It's most like they've got him too."

He turned to her, looking her up and down. He pulled his jacket off and tossed it to her. She slid into.

"We're in the basement. My car's all the way around the other side, and that sorry son of a whore," Yoren kicked the half naked corpse, "told whomever was on the radio that you were with me so we can't be seen together."

Out of his pocket he pulled out his car keys. "Valet parking my ass." he muttered to himself and opened the door, looking to both side before be ran off leaving Arya to follow.

The shoes were too big, and the pants too loose and long, sliding under her feet which made it hard to keep up. They ran through two double doors, and they were outside. She could see the flashing red and blue of all the cop cars on the other side of the building, but Yoren led her through the buildings, until they came to the parking. It was full of cops. Yoren cursed and threw his keys on the floor and pulled her towards the opposite direction.

Yoren took her through building after building.

Whenever they would see someone, Yoren slowed down to a casual walk, but mostly they were running. Until a car came to view and he let go of her and ran to it.

By the time Arya had reached the car, Yoren had it running. She stepped in the back seat and he drove off like mad.

Her father was dead. She closed her eyes and laid herself on the back seat. She repeated it over and over in her head but the more she said it the less real it sounded to her.

Yoren drove a while, turning so much, Arya stopped trying to follow which way he was taking her. The streets began to grow darker, and when she finally sat up to see where they were, she did not recognize the area.

He stopped infront of a building. Arya looked out the window, trying to figure out what this place was.

Yoren turned in his seat.

"Get off."

"Where are we?" she asked as she opened the back door, sliding out. Yoren rolled his window down and handed her the back her gun.

"Ring apartment 6. I need to get rid of this car." he said, and before she could ask anything else, he was gone, leaving her standing, staring at the shrinking car lights.

She stood there until she saw the car turn right and then ran across the street, to the building Yoren had pointed to. She wiped her sweaty hands against her pants as she walked closer to the buzzer.

When she reached it, she didn't press it right away.

Instead she stared at the button numbered 6.

She didn't want to press it. She could just leave.

_But where?_

Yoren was her father's friend. He brought her here, and whomever this was must be someone he trusts.

_But who?_

For all she knew, whomever was suppose to be up there was already dead. In their place was one of those Lannister men. With a gun.

Arya closed her eyes, exhaling. A passing car made her jump, and she decided to press the button, disliking the bright light over her head, making her visible to everyone.

There was no answer.

She pressed it again, repeatedly this time.

A voice came from the speaker. It was a man.

_"Do you have any idea what time it is? Who is this?_"

Arya searched her head, trying to place the voice. She dug deep, but it just made her head hurt. She didn't recognize the voice.

_"Hello?"_ the voice called.

Arya pressed the button speaking into the intercom.

"Let me in." she said.

"_Who is this?"_

She closed her eyes, leaning her head against the wall next to the buzzer. She couldn't bring herself to give her name. She tried thinking. Who could this be? The voice didn't ring any bells. She felt tears coming, but she pushed them back.

She took in several breaths to calm herself before pressing the button, and leaning into the intercom.

"Please. Please let me in." she whispered, unsure if she has been audible enough.

For a while, nothing happened. There was no answer and Arya couldn't bring herself to press it again. She wasn't going to give her name, so she just stood waiting. After about a minute of nothing, Arya was about to walk away, when the door buzzer rang long and loud.

She jumped to the door and pushed it in, nearly falling to the floor. Her feet felt like lead as she began to climb up the stairs, but she made it all the way up to apartment six.

She didn't knock right away. Instead she pulled her gun out of her pocket and, wiping her sweaty right hand on her pants. She let out a deep breath and was about to knock, when she heard a gun cock behind her.

"Drop the gun. Turn around slowly."

Arya blinked back in anger, tightening the hold on her gun. She could feel her heart beating against her chest. _Fear cuts deeper than swords_, she repeated Syrio's saying over and over in her head.

_Calm as water. _

"I have a gun pointed to your head. You'll be dead before you can pull the trigger of _your_ gun. So drop it!" the man yelled.

_Quick as a snake!_

She spun swiftly, gun pointed straight forward, ready to shoot.

"Arya?" he said lowering his gun and climbing down the stairs going up to the next floor, where he'd been hiding.

Arya let out a sigh of relief, closing her eyes and dropping her hand to her side.

"Gendry."

**AN**

**ok, so a lot is going on in this chapter. This chapter is the reason i began writing this fanfic. The background chapters came out of nowhere, and i could't resist writing those, but this will be the last chapter to lack Gendry, because, as you can guess, Arya and Gendry are now tied together after this.**

**We have a bit of Sansa/Joffrey drama. I HATE HIM!**

**A tiny bit of Cersei/Arya and Arya/Jaime.**

**Rickon meets Osha!**

**I've introduced a few more characters. I have, in other chapters introduced Theon, Brienne and this chapter has Osha, Tyrion (if only mentioned) and Jaime.**

**I don't think i'll be getting too much into Tyrion. He's a brilliant character and i can't bring myself to write him out for fear of no living up to him.**

**Jaime and Osha, as well as Brienne have been introduced for a reason. **

**I've done it. I've killed Ned Stark for you all again.**

**This is a modern take on the story, so i needed it in order to set things in motion. **

**However, a more chapters in i will start adding a few of my own stuff.**

**This was a very exhausting chapter to write. I wanted to get things as right as i can.**

**For those of you interested, Cutler's Hall is a real place in Sheffield.**

**The hall described in this chapter is the main one. I will put the link on my fanfic profile for those of you interested in checking out their website. Its a beautiful place. **

**Again, thanks for your reviews! Keep them coming. Tell me what you all think of this chapter!**

**Thanks!**


	11. Chapter 11

"Please. Please let me in." the voice pleaded.

Gendry still had no idea who it could be. It sounded like no one he knew.

Then again his intercom always did that. It messed voices up to the point of no recognition.

That wasn't what bothered him though. What bothered him was that this person, whomever they were, refused to identify themselves.

But that was was made him not want to open it.

He had no idea what made him _want_ to open it though. But something did.

Perhaps something in the womans voice. The way she pleaded so calmly, yet with such desperation.

Whatever it was, he finaly made up his mind and went into his room grabbing his gun. On his way out he pressed the "door" button on the intercom.

He rushed to the stairs leading to the next floor up and hid behind the rails where he still had view of his door.

A few moments later, he saw the boy emerge and walk towards his door. His back was to Gendry, so he had the advantage.

Gendry began to quietly slide his butt down the stairs one by one using his free hand to push himself to the next stair down.

He froze when the saw boy reach inside his pocket. Gendry noticed two things.

That boy had a gun, and that the boy wasn't a boy at all. He wasn't fooled by the short hair and baggy suit.

As if on instinct, Gendry stood, gun pointed forward.

"Drop the gun. Turn around slowly." he said.

In the few months he had been working at the station, he had never had the chance to say that, until now. In his head, on several occasions. But never in a real situation.

The only things he ever did was patrol downtown, stand in during football games, and had hsd the chsnce to arrest a few times, thanks to Arya.

"I have a gun pointed to your head. You'll be dead before you can pull the trigger of your gun. So drop it!" he yelled when he saw the girl wasn't obeying.

_Stubborn much?_

When they'd first given him his uniform at work, along with the gun, Gendry's first thought was, I hope I never have to kill someone.

But as time went by he came to realize it would be inevitable. He would, one day, come to shoot a person, perhaps kill a person, and even get injured or killed himself.

It came with the title. And he came to accept it, and realize that yes, that day was out there somewhere in his future. The day when it would come to "kill or be killed." as Yoren liked to say. And he accepted it. He just never thought it would happen so soon.

When the girl suddenly spun around and his finger twitched over the trigger his mind screamed _It's today!_

Thankfully, he would have recognized Arya's face anywhere. Even with chopped hair and drowning under a suit, so as soon as he got a glimpse of her face, the gun in his hand felt as though it weighed a ton, and his hand fell under its weight.

"Arya?" he gasped as he ran down the rest of the stairs to her. She had a large blood stain on her shirt.

"Gendry." she sighed with relief, dropping her gun to her side.

"Are you hurt? What happened to you?" he yelled, as he opened her suit jacket for a better look. She pulled away from him.

"I'm fine. It's just the shirt."

"What happened to you...your hair and... why are you dressed like that?"

"Can we go inside. Please." she said lifelessly.

Gendry nodded and put his hand on her shoulder and lead her into his flat, sweeping the outside hall to see if they'd woken anyone or if anyone had followed Arya before he closed the door behind him.

"I could have killed you tonight. Why the hell didn't you tell me who you were?" he asked furiously as he locked the door.

"I didn't know who _you_ were. Yoren brought me here." she sat herself on his couch pulling off Yoren's jacket. "All he said was to ring number 6."

"Where is he now? What happened to you?" Gendry demanded noticing the blood stain was on the back of the shirt too.

_Whomever that belonged to was dead now_.

Arya didn't feel like talking and Gendry wouldn't shut up. It was pissing her off.

The last thing she wanted was to re-live everything all over again.

"Don't you watch the news?" she finally asked him as she reached for the remote on the floor.

"I was studying." Gendry told her, as though she was already suppose to know that.

Arya turned the tv on and flipped through the channels, until she found CNN. _Just as i thought._

The incident was being broadcasted.

_Reporter on tv_

_"...It is still unclear what his condition is, but we do know that Chairman Robert Baratheon was still alive when he was taken to the hospital, but reports are the shooting took place during a private family celebration. We do know that in addition to the Chairman, there was several others who were shot and seen taken out of the building in gurneys. Now we do know that the shooter was Ned Stark, one of the Chairman's closest friend and a guest at the event. We know he has been shot by two of Baratheon's security, but it is yet to be confirmed whether there was someone else involved, but we will continue to..."_

"He's dead." Arya whispered over to Gendry without looking away from the tv.

Gendry stood there. His body felt unable to move from the shock.

"They're liars." she shook her head, feeling the tears in her eyes. "My father would nev..."

"I know. He would never do that." Gendry cut her off.

He was finally able to move and he walked up to the sofa and took the remote from Arya's hands and turned the tv off.

_This can't be real._

He rubbed his face trying to find sense in everything that had just been thrown at him. Ned Stark was dead, and not only that, but his name had been stained with accusation, and lies.

Arya Stark was in his flat, clearly in shock. He had no idea how much she had seen, but whatever it was, he didn't wish on anyone.

Gendry had no idea what to do. He had no idea what to say. He felt an ache himself, and even after seeing the reports and the state Arya had arrived in, none of it seemed real.

The girl sitting on his sofa in front of him, seemed the least real of all of it.

Gendry did not know what he was suppose to say to her.

He sat himself next to her, but no words came.

Arya sat there, staring at the tv, even after he'd turn it off. She wasn't crying. She wasn't doing anything. That made it even harder for him to do or say anything. Why wasn't she crying? Was wasn't she in hysterics?

Why was she just sitting there, lifelessly?

Gendry sat there looking at her, then away from her, then stealing a glance at her again.

"Arya." he whispered and she turned to him. There was nothing in her eyes."Arya, I'm..."

They both jumped when someone began pounding at the door.

_"It's Yoren!"_

Gendry sighed in relief and ran to the door, fumbling with the locks.

As soon as he opened the door, Yoren stormed in and closed the door behind him.

"Car's gone." he announced, turning to Arya. "I'm sorry, i had to make sure you were safe first. Your father wouldn't have wanted it any other way. I'm sorry i wasn't there for him!"

"We both failed him. Not just you." Arya said, never facing Yoren.

"How did all of this happen? How were they even able to blame Ned?" Gendry demanded, as if Yoren knew all the answers.

"Lasnnisters. It was all the Lannisters." Yoren said as he took a glass, which was probably dirty, from the table and filled it with water from the tap.

He tipped it over, drinking it all in one gulp, and wiping his mouth and beard with his hand.

"This isn't real." Gendry said to himself, fisting his hands around his hair and walking towards the window, giving both Arya and Yoren his back.

"I knew it! I knew I should've faked those bloody paper!" Yoren yelled, his hand grasping the glass in his hand to the point of nearly breaking it. Gendry turned to face Yoren.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Arya too, was now looking up at Yoren from the sofa.

Yoren looked them over carefully, considering whether or not to tell them. His eyes rested on Arya.

"Robert asked your father to find the whereabouts of a son he had way before he ever married Cersei."

Arya nodded, recalling the conversation she had overheard between her mother and father,

"Ned already knew who the boy was, but he made me fake an investigation that stated the boy and his mother had passed away. Ned didn't want Robert to know who his son was."

At that, he turned to Gendry. He opened his mouth to speak, but Arya spoke first.

"The will!" she said, and both Yoren and Gendry looked at her.

Arya stood and walked around the sofa, towards Yoren.

"Those men. Before they... they asked father about a will."

"Fuck." Yoren turned his back to them. "I know why this happened."

"Why?" Arya and Gendry said at the same time.

Gendry was still trying to catch up with all of it, trying to make the connection between one thing and the other.

Yoren walked to the sofa and grabbed his suit jacket from where Arya had left it, ignoring their question.

"I have to go somewhere. I'll be back in the morning." he assured them, turning to Gendry. "I need her to stay here. I wouldn't ask if i had any other place."

"It's fine." Gendry told him.

"I'll need your car."

Gendry fetched his keys off the kitchen table, tossing them at Yoren.

"I'll be back." he repeated. "Don't try to contact your mother. Don't try to contact Sansa. Don't talk to anyone until i return." he pointed at Arya. She nodded.

"Lock the door after me." he told Gendry, and he was gone, leaving them both standing there, staring at the door.

After a few moments, Gendry sighed, turning to Arya. "You should get out of those clothes. Shower's in there." he pointed and walked into his room, returning moments later with a towel and some pajamas.

"Thank you." she said taking them from him. He didn't let go of them right away.

"Arya. I'm sorry about your father."

She nodded once and he let go of the towel and clothes, staring after Arya as she walked into the bathroom.

_Ned was dead._

The only man who ever believed in him. The man who saw past image, and status, beyond what anyone else had ever dared to look past. That great man that day after day encouraged him to not give up.

Gendry grabbed a table lamp and smashed it against the wall. He reached for something else, but it was Arya's gun.

He exhaled loudly, trying to calm himself.

The shower was already running and he hoped Arya hadn't heard the lamp break.

Gendry decided to clean his place to get his mind off his anger. He never had anyone over, except for Brienne, and that was only occasionally when they had game night, which they hadn't had in a while, so his place was a dump.

He couldn't remember what kind of state the bathroom was in, but it was too late for that.

After picking things up in the kitchen and living room, and cleaning up the broken lamp, he moved to his room, where Arya would sleep.

SInce he was closer to the bathroom, he was able to hear it. Arya was crying.

At first he wasn't sure. But then he walked to the bathroom door and he heard it clearly.

She was being very quiet, but he could still hear her little moans and occasional sniffs.

The anger returned to Gendry, only this time it came with tears of his own.

He wiped at them roughly with the back of his hand.

He hadn't cried since his mother had died. But he had been a child back then. He was a man now, and Ned was technically nothing to him.

Yet it hurt. It hurt to hear her cry and it hurt to know he'd in a way lost someone too.

"Pull it together Gendry!" he told himself, walking back into his room to finish making the bed.

By the time Arya was done showering, he had finished more or less cleaning up the place and had even fixed her some toast, though he doubted she'd be hungry. When she walked out of the shower, Gendry was siting in the kitchen, inspecting her gun.

"Is this yours?" he asked as she walked over to sit next to him.

"It was a gift." she said

"Your father?" he asked incredulously. Gendry doubted Ned would ever give Arya a gun, especially knowing how Arya was.

"No. My brother Jon." Arya said as Gendry handed her the gun. "It belonged to him, but when he left, he left it for me to remember him by."

"Where is he now?"

"He left for the army when i was 10. He's dead now though." she said sadly as she looked down at the gun, never meeting Gendry's eyes.

Gendry felt like an idiot for bringing it up. The last time they had seen each other had been the day he had arrested her up in the house on Winterfell.

That day made more sense to him now. Arya's anger. The scratches over Jon's named on the tree trunk.

"I'm sorry."

Arya raised her gaze to meet his and Gendry felt an overwhelming desire to reach over and hug her, but he swallowed it and instead stood to fetch her toast.

"I made you toast."

"I'm not hungry. But thank you."

Gendry nodded. "You should rest. I'm not sure what will happen tomorrow, but I can bet Yoren has something in mind. You can have the bed." he pointed towards his room.

Arya stood. "I can sleep on the couch." she said.

"I won't be sleeping tonight, i have finals tomorrow so i have to finish studying. Take the bed."

Arya thanked him and left to the room, closing the door after herself.

Gendry pulled the books out of his bag which rested on a kitchen chair. He looked at the time. It was 2:02 am.

He sighed and tried to find the page where he'd left off. Before he could though, he had rested his head on the books. And in a few seconds, he was asleep.

xxxxxxxxxx

It had been a long day, and by 10 Cat, Bran and Robb were all in bed. By 11 they were asleep.

When Robb first heard the phone he though it was his alarm. But then he noticed it was still dark out looking down at his phone he saw it was Sansa calling.

He answered but couldn't understand her much over her crying. He rolled out of bed, careful not to wake Bran, and stepped out of the bedroom, into the receiving room of their suite.

"Sansa! Stop crying I can't understand you!"

Cat had woken at that, and was out of her room and sitting next to Robb, taking the phone from him.

"Dad!" Sansa muttered hysterically. "Dad's dead Robb."

At first he couldn't believe it. Even after Sansa had explained everything. Even after they'd found the news report on the television.

Robb had gone outside for air while Cat talked to Sansa, trying to calm her.

When she went looking for Robb she found him crying in the parking lot and ran to hug him.

"I'm going to kill them." he sobbed out as Cat hugged him tighter.

When he had finally calmed, Cat told him that Arya and Rickon were missing.

"Have they tried looking for them at home. Have you called Mordane?" Robb asked.

"Mordane is gone. She wouldn't answer the door and when Cersei sent someone to check if the kids were out our house, they said her car was still there, but when her men broke in, she was no where in sight."

"Arya and Rickon must be with her. She's probably scared and she took them somewhere safe."

"I hope you're right." Cat said, "but they would have contacted us by now.

"We have to go home. We have to find them. We have to clear father's name."

"We're leaving tonight. But no back to Sheffield." Cat told him.

"What?"

"I have 5 children, but at the moment i am only able to protect 2. We're going to your grandfather's. Once i know you and Bran are safe, I will personally go back and look for Arya and Rickon."

"Spain! No! Mom, you're not thinking clearly."

"Bran was attacked upon our arrival here. This is more than just a set up. It goes beyond that. I'll have it no other way Robb." she yelled as she shook his by his shoulders. "You two are the only thing I have any control of! You're the only thing that's keeping me together right now Robb! Don't dare take that away from me!" Cat began to weep into her hands and Robb pulled her into his chest.

"Ok. Ok mom." he whispered against her hair as he began crying all over again.

"Well go to grandfather. He'll take care of Bran. You and me can go to Sheffield after. Ok?"

Cat pulled away from him. "I want you to stay with Bran. I'll be ok. Don't worry about me. I'm a Tully, remember?" she said, tears rolling down her eyes.

Robb wanted to protest, but he didn't want to upset her, so he saved it for later. He would talk some sense into her once they were at grandfather's.

"Sansa." Robb said suddenly. "Tell her to get on a flight to Spain first thing tomorrow."

"I've tried. She said her place is with her fiancee, where they can comfort each other. Apparently Robert is in a comma. Sansa said she won't leave Joffrey's side."

Robb rolled his eyes. Sansa could be such a blind idiot sometimes.

"Go to the front desk and check us out. I'll go... talk to Bran..." she choked out. "pack our things." Cat said as tears began to well in her eyes again.

Robb nodded. "Ok mom."

xxxxxxxxxx

Gendry woke to violent knocking on the door.

"It's Yoren! Open up!"

Gendry rose from his chair stiffly. It was already light outside. He rubbed the sleep off his eyes and walked over lazily to the door.

"coming!" he let out thickly as he unlocked the door and yanked it open.

Yoren walked in looking as thought he hadn't slept all night. He was still wearing the suit. He has a black bag with him which he unzipped as soon as Gendry closed the door after him.

"I have new papers for you." Yoren announced as he dug through the bag. "I'm not paranoid, just safe. We need to head to London right after breakfast. I've tried reaching Cat and Robb but they won't answer. Is Arya still asleep?"

"Yes. Papers? What papers?" Gendry asked.

Yoren sighed, setting the bag down on the kitchen table. "You'll need to leave too."

Gendry shook his head sleepily. "I have nothing to do with this." he said matter of fact-ly.

Yoren looked down at the bag in his hands. Thinking of how to tell him. There was no reason to beat around the bush. There was no time. He walked up to Gendry and placed his hands on his shoulders gently.

"You're the boy. Roberts son. It's you." he told him slowly.

It took several beats for Gendry to react. Perhaps because he was half asleep.

He pulled away from Yorens hands shaking his head and rubbing his eyes.

"Please tell me you're fucking with me." Gendry said in an irritated tone.

Yoren shook his head.

Somehow, it made sense. He felt his throat knot at the memory of his mother telling him he had a rich father. A prince who would take them to live in a castle one day. She would sing songs to him about princes and dragons, telling Gendry that was where his father was. Fighting off a dragon.

Then she would get drunk and spill the truth. His father didn't want them. He was never coming back. He had another family. He was as useless as Gendry. That's what her mother would tell him. She would feed him fairy tales by day and the harsh cold truth at night. That went on for years. Until she died.

Gendry was 8.

"Ned died because of Robert's will" Yoren's voice cut through his thoughts. "I'm sure of it. Robert is tracking you down, out of nowhere comes this will, and suddenly he's been shot at and the only two people who know about it are dead. The bloody lawyer...and Ned."

"I have nothing to do with that will. I_ want _nothing to do with that family or their money." Gendry offered.

"You don't know that. Even if you don't, Robert's family will still see you as a threat."

"You said so yourself, you faked my death!" Gendry yelled angrily.

"And only the bloody lawyer and Ned knew that! For all we know Cersei found out what her husband was doing and did some digging of her own, and she came out with the truth. I don't know that, but i don't want to risk it."

Gendry turned away from Yoren, about to saw something, but he came face to face with Arya.

Her hair stuck up in every direction, but her eyes were alert, going from Gendry to Yoren. When they came back to meet Gendry's, she held his gaze.

"Sleep well?" Yoren asked. She didn't answer and Yoren didnt wait for her to, as he walked up to the bag he had brought and dug through it to pull out some folded clothes.

"I have this." he set the clothes down on the table. "I hope it fits. I have new papers for you. We leave for London after you get something to eat." he turned to Gendry. "You have anything decent to eat in this dump?"

"I'm all out of eggs and milk." Gendry said never looking at Yoren. He sounded angry. "Theres a store around the corner, i'll go bring some..."

"No. I'll go. You two get ready and look over your papers. I'll be back."

"How do we know my mother is still in London?" Arya asked, her voice hoarse from sleep and crying. Yoren unlocked the doors.

"We don't." he said, and he opened the door and was gone.

Gendry crossed to the door and began to lock it. When he turned around to face Arya, she still stood in the same spot.

"Did you hear?"

"Yes."

Gendry raised his eyebrows and took the clothes from the table and tossed them to her.

Arya walked inside his room, and came back out a minute later, dressed in more fitted boys clothes. She looked like a badly dressed 13 year old skater.

Gendry was looking down at the id in his hand.

"Apparently you're Arry Williams now." Gendry said as she walked in the room. "So fucking original Yoren." he muttered as he looked over his shoulder to glance at her. He smiled, despite himself.

"Shut up!" Arya snapped.

"I guess Yoren was half-asleep when he picked our fake names and your outfit." Gendry joked as he looked down at his id. "You're to call me Joe now" he told her.

"I have no idea where Yoren got these picture of us from. Yours looks like..."

They both flinched when someone began violently knocking at the door.

Gendry stared at the door, not moving. He exchanged a look with Arya.

Another knock came, this time followed bya very low_ "It's Yoren."_

Arya began to walk to the door, but Gendry caught her arm and shook his head.

It was Yoren's voice, but it sounded forced, and Yoren had always annouced himself as soon he began knocking.

The knocking came a third time. Then Yoren's voice again.

_"I told you there's no one in there._" he said, but then some one hit him.

_"Shut up!_" a man yelled.

Gendry threw their ids in the bag and flung it over his shoulder and ran quietly to the kitchen counter where he'd left his gun.

He turned to Arya, who had already grabbed hers, and pointed to the window.

_"Kick the fucking door down." _came a second voice and Gendry panicked as he fought to open the window.

Arya slipped out first, then him, right on time too, for as soon as he pulled his leg out, he heard his door break down.

They both stood on the sill, backs flat against the building, just inches from the window.

If anyone stuck their head out, they would see them.

Thanks to the curtain, and the still air, no one would see the window was open.

_"Look in the rooms."_ the first voice commanded. _"For your sake you better hope they're here!"_ the man yelled, most likely at Yoren.

Yoren spat. _"Fuck you!"_ he said.

"_Empty_." came the second voice.

Someone began kicking Yoren.

_"Where are they?" _they asked.

Yoren could be heard gasping for air, but also laughing and cursing them.

_"They're gone now! They've left. They wouldn't stay around. They're not stupid."_ he gasped out.

_"They're not stupid!"_ he yelled. _"They've run! Run! Run away!" _Yoren yelled before a shot was heard.

Arya stirred next to Gendry, about to jump over him and back inside the window, but Gendry grabbed her by the arm roughly, keeping her pressed against the building.

"You're a cop!" she whispered through clenched teeth. "Do something!"

Gendry looked into her eyes.

Inside the flat he could hear a struggle. From the sound of it, Yoren had disarmed a man and he was shooting and yelling curses.

_"Run, you fuckers!"_ he yelled Arya and Gendry from inside the building while he shot at men._"Run for your fucking life!"_

There was more shots, and the sound of more men entering the room.

Gendry turned to Arya. "Go!" he whispered and pushed her forward.

They walked along the sill until they reached the end and jumped onto the roof of the shorter building next to the one they were on.

By then Gendry could hear someone yelling at them from his window. They had spotted them.

Arya landed wrong, and fell forward, but Gendry quickly wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her up. They had no shoes on, and the roof was rough, but they ran, all the way across, until they came to the edge. There was a rusty fire escape along the side of the building and Gendry jumped on it. It shook, almost falling off the wall. He tucked his gun inside the bag over his shoulder and looked up at Arya.

"Jump!" he yelled her as he held his arms out to catch her.

She didn't hesitate, falling in his arms, nearly knocking him over the edge and making the metal stairs swing, but they remained in place.

"Go! he yelled, shoving her forward.

They began climbing down, rust sticking to their feet and hands. The entire time Gendry was expecting the stairs to fall off the wall, or a rain of bullets from the roof. But neither happened.

Once they reached the bottom, they ran down the long alley.

"Why didn't you help him!" Arya yelled behind him. He stopped for breath and spun around to face her.

"Didn't you hear who they were? That was officer Levan! They were cops!" he said, turning to his side to spit.

"So you just let him die then. Save yourself and let them kill Yoren."

"I did it for YOU! I was saving _your _ass!" he yelled before he started running again, leaving Arya to follow.

He was several meters ahead of her, so he reached the end of the alley first. When he turned around to her, Arya saw two men suddenly tackle Gendry to the floor.

On instinct she pulled her gun out of her pocket and ran faster.

The men pulled their guns out and began lifting Gendry to his feet.

Arya ran faster. _Quick as a snake!_

Feeling her sides ache. _Strong as a bear!_

Her eyes were on Gendry. One man turned to face her, but her hand was already up, gun pointed straight at him. She pulled the trigger.

She was scared. Scared she'd missed. Scared she'd accidentally shot Gendry instead.

But the man fell, first on his knees, then forward. When the second one turned, Gendry freed himself from his grasp and had knocked him to the floor.

By the time Arya reached them, Gendry had already knocked the man unconscious. They were not cops. Arya recognized them from the party. They were Lannister men.

Cars drove by. People stared at them. At the other side of the alley, cops were already running towards them.

But Arya was just staring at the body of the man she had just killed.

"Arya." Gendry grabbed her shoulders. "Arya!" he shook her.

She met his eyes.

"We have to go." he told her. She nodded mechanically, and he took her hand and ran across the street despite the traffic. Away from the cops, and away from the dead body. The man she had killed.

**AN**

**Thank you all for the reviews! They make me feel special.**

**SO... We have finally reached the point in the story where Arya and Gendry are both fugitives. **

**Several tiny twists. Rickon is missing. Jon Snow is dead. The cops seem to be on the Lannister's side...**

**We also have Arya's first kill. **

**I apologize for the very late update. I will be very free this week so i will TRY TRY TRY to update daily. **

**No promises.**

**Again, thanks for your reviews. Tell me what you think so far. What you love, what you hate. Etc... Let me know.**


	12. Chapter 12

Gendry and Arya had been running for several kilometers, between buildings, across streets, through alleys, trying to turn as much as possible to make sure they lost their pursuers.

They finally reached Tinsley canal.

Both their feet were raw from running, and their sides ached.

"Under! Go!" Gendry pointed under the bridge that crossed over the canal, glancing quickly over his shoulder to make sure no one was looking.

Arya stepped through the scrubs, fighting with the drying branches, and under the bridge, crawling behind the piers. Gendry was right behind her, pushing her up the stone slope until they came to the shortest part, where their heads came up to the underside of the bridge.

Gendry's face was twisted in a grimace as he gasped deeply for air through his mouth.

They were both sweating, despite the cold.

For several minutes, neither of them said anything. They just sat in silence, catching their breath, their ears alert for any sound of their pursuers.

Thankfully, they heard nothing.

His heart was beginning to slow down, but his sides still ached. He turned to Arya.

"You ok?" he gasped out.

She nodded, but then her chest heaved and she turned away from him and started throwing up to her left.

It was mostly spittle, but her insides clenched, trying to force more out.

Gendry slid next to her, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"You need water." he told her as he gently rubbed her shoulder.

"Fuck!" he whispered as he began crawling towards the edge to peek out from under the bridge. There was nowhere he could get her water from.

"I'm fine." she said as she wiped her mouth on her shirt sleeve. He glanced back at her over his shoulder.

"We need to get to the train station." she said as she laid herself in fetal position and closed her eyes.

"They'll have put the station and the airport on alert." Gendry said as he inched back towards her. "We could risk using the papers Yoren got for us?"

She opened her eyes and sat herself up slowly

"They won't recognize me. I look like a boy." she said, her eyes wide with hope.

He furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "They'll recognize me, though." he sighed.

"Then i'll buy the tickets."

Gendry shook his head. "Uh uhh. I'll buy them."

"They don't know what i look like. The police is obviously involved. They all know you. I can buy them!"

He rubbed his hand over his face. "It's not safe. If something goes wrong... No... i prefer you to be hiding somewhere."

"I can take care of myself Gendry!" she yelled, and her words echoed under the bridge.

"I'm not saying you can't..." he let out calmly.

"Then I'll buy the tickets."

He exhaled sharply, closing his eyes. There was no way of winning with her. The fact that they were both stubborn didn't help.

"Fine. But we leave until it gets dark." he pointed a finger at her.

Arya screwed her face. "Why?"

"You want to get caught? Be my guest!" he yelled, half expecting her to try and leave.

But she didn't, which he was glad of.

He had no energy left to go after her, yet if she had tried to leave, he would have no choice.

"Where are we exactly?" she demanded instead.

He shrugged and she widened her eyes in disbelief.

"Oh, I'm sorry, _m'lady..._ I must have left my city map in the pocket of my other pajama bottoms!" he snarled out as he tugged at his pajama pants in frustration.

Arya rolled her eyes and slid next to him. She crawled over him, making sure to dig her knees into his legs and stomach. He grunted shoving her off . She slid to the edge and ducked her head up through the side of the bridge reminding Gendry of a meerkat.

"We're not far from the Purple Route stop." she said as she pulled her head back under the bridge. "We can take the tram."

Gendry stared at her, having nothing to say against her plan. She lifted her eyebrows, waiting for his reply.

He shook his head. "I still think we should wait until it gets dark."

Arya scoffed and shoved him back. "You can wait here until it gets dark." she told him and turned to for the exit.

She jumped off the concrete slope and landed on the shrubs.

She fought with the tall branches and began walking up, towards the road.

Behind her she could hear Gendry struggling with the branches. She started down the small road, towards the motorway.

"Arry!" she heard from behind, but she kept on walking.

"Arry!" this time it was a shout.

Gendry caught up with her, fixing the handle of the bag on his shoulder.

"What are you on about?" she asked without looking at him.

"You're Arry now, remember?"

Arya looked at him out of the corner of her eye. In this light, she could see the fading bruise near his eyes and nose. And the slight swell on his nose.

_From our struggle._

"Right. Joe. Arry." she said as she picked up the pace.

Gendry suddenly reached for her arm and spun her roughly to face him.

"Ey! Don't do that! Alright. You can't just run out with out thinking things through." he told her before walking around her and towards the main road.

Arya scampered behind him, trying to keep up.

He was leading them the wrong way and Arya told him so, but he ignored her and walked on. She was about to turn around and leave him, when she realized he was walking towards a small shop.

The bell rang as they walked inside, and the elderly man behind the cash register gave them a quick glance and a "hello" before turning his attention back to the small tv he had sitting on a stool.

Arya was grateful that the small store was empty.

She walked towards some rain boots that were standing in a row at the front of the shop.

Gendry walked straight to the back and picked up a pair of jeans, checking the size.

"Did you heart about the politician?" the old man asked Arya as he fixed his glasses with trembling hands.

"Uh... yea." Arya said, turning to the boots again and picking up a pair.

"They said it was his best friend that shot him. He made Baratheon pay for his crippled son's therapy, and then he turns around and shoots him in front of his entire family and friends. The bastard."

Arya bit her lip and felt her face heat with rage. She wanted to yell at the man. She wanted to beat his face bloody.

Gendry stepped next to her then, with a pair of jeans, a hoodie, and a pair of boots in his hands. He gave her a warning glance.

"They have better shoes back there," he signaled with his head and walked to the register.

"Did you hear about the politician?" the old man asked Gendry as he put his stuff down next to the cash register.

"You shouldn't believe everything you hear, old man. " Gendry told him as he dug through Yoren's bag for the money. He froze at the sight of the money packs.

He had no idea where Yoren had gotten the money from, and he honestly didn't want to know.

"It's in the news, boy." the old man protested as he fixed his glasses and searched for the tags in Gendry's items.

"And the in news they never lie?"

The old man said nothing in reply, and began punching numbers into the register.

Arya walked up to him with pair of boots like the ones Gendry had picked, only they looked her size, and a pair of work socks.

Gendry paid for everything, and the old man bid them goodbye, his eyes glued to the small screen.

They walked out, and around the small building, where Gendry changed behind a dumpster and Arya kept watch while slipping her dirty, swollen feet into the socks, and then into the boots.

Gendry tossed his pajama bottoms into the dumpster and they began walking in the direction of the tramway station.

They arrived right on time, and bought their tickets off the conductor, finding a seat towards the back.

Arya slid in and leaned her head against the window, looking out at the city as they began moving forward.

She was listening at the hum of the moving train car, and it was making her sleepy.

She thought about her father. Her mother. Sansa and Rickon. Bran.

She closed her eyes, but the images still came to her when she did.

Her father, lying in a pool of his own blood. The blood that spurted out in his attempt to speak. His closing eye.

She opened her eyes, and a new image came to her. The man she shot, laying dead on the floor. Dead by her hand.

She tried to blink the imaged away.

Nothing.

Outside, it looked as though it might snow. A notion that under different circumstances, would have made Arya giddy and excited.

No one sat near them, so she felt safe enough to pull her gun out of her pocket. She began to trace it's parts delicately.

"Thank you." Gendry whispered to her.

It was so low, Arya could have easily pretended she hadn't heard him.

She knew he was referring to the man she had killed to save him.

"I've never killed anyone. I've only worked at the station a few months. It's not something I'd wish on anyone."

She continued to trace her gun's features slowly. The slim trigger guard. The rail.

"If you want to talk about it..." he offered.

"It's nearly out of bullets?" she said in a quiet voice.

Gendry held his hand out at her and she handed him the gun and watched him inspect it in his lap.

"I can modify this for you."

"What do you mean?" she looked up at his face. She noticed that every time he concentrated, he pouted his lips.

"Before i became a cop, i used to be a gunsmith."

"Oh. It's fine." she told him.

She didn't want to change anything. This is exactly how she would always keep it. The way Jon had it.

"Ok." Gendry said awkwardly, and placed the gun back in her hands. Arya noticed it.

She hadn't meant to sound rude, so she thought of something she could ask him, to take away the awkwardness.

"What made you want to become a cop?"

Gendry let out a low, dry laugh and turned to face her.

"Your father." he told her, his deep blue eyes piercing her gray ones. She held his gaze for a few seconds, before she looked away and back out the window.

"Although after all of this, I'm really beginning to question whether or not he was lying when he said he saw potential in me."

Arya turned her full body to face him. "What?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Gendry was calling her father a liar!

"Your father said he saw potential in me, but now I'm just thinking the only reason he helped me out was because I'm Robert's son."

"My father would never lie about something like that. He didn't care about names!" Arya said defensively as she crossed her arms over her chest, and gave Gendry her back, forehead leaning on the window.

He lied to Robert about my death, he thought. But he didn't say that to her. He knew she was right, though. He recalled the conversation he had with Ned the afternoon he had arrested Arya for the first time.

His speech about honor, and never allowing a name to get in the way of Gendry doing his job was more than enough to believe Ned really meant what he said.

Gendry decided to give Ned the benefit of the doubt, even though there was still something eating away inside of him.

Something that told him the only reason he made it as a cop, in half the time than anyone else ever had, was his paternity. Maybe he had the potential, but that wasn't the only reason he was pursued by Ned.

He pushed that thought aside, disliking the lost of faith in Ned that it brought.

He turned to Arya, who still had her back towards him. He had clearly offended her.

"I don't think your father is a liar." he said. "He always saw the good in people, never the bad. Even in me."

Arya faced him slowly.

Gendry smiled at her. A short strand of her hair was sticking up at the front of her head. He reached over and combed it down. She swatted his hand away.

His eyes looked her up and down.

She had on a pair of jeans, and a long sleeved black shirt with a weird logo he'd never seen before. Yoren had _almost_ guessed her size.

The clothes were almost right on her. Just a bit baggy, but it suited the look though.

She could easily pass as a boy, unless you paid close attention to her features.

"What?" she asked him when he had been staring too long.

"Why did Yoren cut your hair?" he lifted an eyebrow.

Arya had wondered that herself when Yoren began sawing at her hair back in Cutler's Hall. But on the ride over to Gendry's, Yoren had briefly apologized for it, explaining it was the safest way to get her out of the building, and out of town.

It was as if Yoren had known the severity of the situation as soon as it happened.

Thinking about him, and how he'd given his life for them made her insides feel hollow.

"After what happened to father, Yoren and I were leaving the hall, when a security man saw us, and told everyone over radio that I was with Yoren." she paused, remembering as Yoren dropped her to her feet and quickly shot the man.

"Yoren killed him. Dressed me in his clothes, and cut my hair off."

Gendry said nothing. In less than 24 hours, this girl had seen more death than anyone deserved. It wasn't right. And it wasn't fair.

"He said it was the safest way to escape."

"By becoming someone else." Gendry said.

She shrugged. "That's what Yoren said."

"Well, for what it's worth, it looks nice." Gendry paused awkwardly, as if he'd spoken out before actually thinking what he was saying. _Well, there's no turning back now_.

"You can pull it off quite well." he said, not meeting her eyes.

Arya blinked.

She didn't know what to say because she wasn't sure if he was mocking her or if he was being serious.

"A girl i work with, well, she has short hair. Now, I'm not saying she looks awful, just that her features don't necessarily look great with short hair. She is pretty. I'm not attracted to her, but I can say she is pretty without feeling attraction... Few girls can pull it off. Like, there's that actress . . . I can't think of her name . . . she came out in..."

"Gendry." Arya said, and he turned to her. "Shut up." she said, but she was smiling.

He smiled too, and rolled his eyes.

It wasn't long before they made their final stop at the station, which was adjacent to the Sheffield Train Station.

"We're here." Gendry said as they came to a stop. Arya raised her eyes to his and nodded.

Gendry nodded once. "Alright. Lets do this."

**AN**

**I can't stop thanking you all for your reviews., to both fanfiction reviewers, and the tumblr readers.**

**This is my first fanfic ever, as I've mentioned before. Arya and Gendry were actually the first to fill me with enough feelings to actually write. So the reviews and likes, really make my day and fuel my writing.**

**I'm so excited, because i just saw someone on tumblr "gendrybaratheonn" made a movie poster for this fanfiction. You know who you are! And this dance is just for you**

***dances around room***

**I literally just danced around the room. Just for you!**

**I will post the link to the post on my fanfic profile.**

**It has inspired me to make a trailer for this fanfic. If i make it, i'll post the link up too.**

**SOOOOOO...**

**Not a lot of action in this chapter. Which after chapter 10 and 11, it feels odd. **

**But this chapter feels necessary. I didn't just want to go from them running from the cops, to them ending up at the train station, suddenly wearing shoes, and Gendry wearing clothes.**

**It was also a chance to just answer any questions the readers might have, and to show what the characters are thinking, which is difficult to write when they're running for their lifes.**

**I promise to update soon, since this is mostly a filler.**

**Again, thanks to you all :)**


	13. Chapter 13

The station hadn't been nearly as full of officers as Gendry had expected, but he still kept out of sight while Arya bought their tickets.

She waved the tickets at him with a small, cheeky smile as she walked up to him. Then bought a few candy bars and a couple of bottled waters and boarded their train.

Arya ripped a candy bar open and took two huge bites as soon as they had found a seat. She set the candy down on her lap and began unscrewing the cap on a bottle of water while she chewed.

"Wha' aw you starwing at?" she demanded before taking a sip from the bottle.

"You. I'm staring at you. Slow down, or you'll choke." he said. She rolled her eyes at him, but she did eat slower, putting less food in her mouth and chewing thoroughly.

A couple sat in front of them, so Gendry couldn't really talk to Arya. She was tired, sleepy, with a belly full, and before long she began nodding with sleep.

When Gendry he cupped her face in one hand and pulled her gently against his shoulder. That's when he caught the couple staring. When his eyes met the woman's, she smiled at him.

"Your brother?" she asked.

Gendry glanced down at Arya, snoring softly on his shoulder.

"Yea." he answered, his eyes leaving Arya's face slowly to meet the woman's eyes once more. The woman nodded with a smile.

"What's in London?" she asked.

She had to be the nosiest woman on the train. No one had ever asked him this many questions when he'd taken the train before. Perhaps he was just edgy.

"Family." Gendry said, a bit too rudely, hoping she would stop asking questions. She did, and Gendry was thankful.

Arya slept through the entire ride.

At one point, Gendry had to pee, and he almost woke her so he could slip out of the seat and go to the toilets, but she looked so comfortable, so he held it, hoping the feeling urge go away.

By the time they arrived to London though, it had become almost unbearable.

"_Arry_." Gendry whispered as he shook Arya's shoulder.

Her eyes slit open a fraction. "what?" she asked as she rubbed her face into his shoulder, taking in a deep, shuddery breath.

"Arry." he shook her again.

"What? What?" she asked groggily as she wiped at her face with the back of her hand and pulled away from his shoulder.

"We're here. I need to pee. I'll be back." he said quickly and he sprinted towards the train lavatory.

Arya was waiting for him outside, looking half asleep and angry. It was pouring and they had no umbrella, but it didn't take them long to get a cab.

"Where to?" the man behind the wheel asked.

Gendry turned to Arya. "Where is your family staying?" he asked.

Arya's eyes grew wide. "Ummm..."

"Where?" the man insisted.

"I think Robb said... uhhh..." she grunted, "I can't remember."

"Great Ormond." Gendry told the driver, and the car moved forward.

"I doubt they'll be at the hospital." Arya whispered over to Gendry.

"Maybe someone will know something." He told her, although he knew she was right.

They had made it. Out of his apartment. Away from both the police and the _other_ men who had been following them. They had made it safely across the city to the station, and now to London. All in less than a day.

It was 3 in the afternoon, but to Gendry, it felt as though it had taken them days to get to where they were.

Less than 24 hours ago, his buzzer had rung, and Arya came to his door dressed in a dead man's suit.

_Ned is dead._

_Robert is my father._

_Yoren is dead. People are after us._

His life had changed... all in less than 24 hours, and it would never be the same again. When he let Arya walk into his home, he let everything slip in with her.

"Joe." Arya's voice pulled him from his thoughts. Gendry turned to her, confused. She poked her head into the cab.

"Pay the driver." They were infront of Great Ormond.

"Oh." Gendry said stupidly and unzipped the bag to pull out the what he owed the man.

There was a large banner to their left as they made their way towards the main entrance, announcing the new wing.

There was more signs inside, saving them the trouble of asking anyone for directions. They took a lift to the fifth floor, and followed the signs until they came to the new wing. It was dead. Only an orderly sat behind the front desk.

When they asked him about Bran, he assumed they were journalist or reporters and demanded they leave.

"We're friends, we've just come to pay our condolences." Gendry said. The man shook his head at them and said Bran would no longer receive therapy here.

"Still can't remember the hotel you family is staying at?" he asked Arya once they were outside the hospital.

"No." she snapped, walking past them and taking the lead.

"Ey! Im not the one who forgot the name of their hotel, I'm trying to help you, so don't take it out on me!"

"I'm not." she called over her shoulder guiltily.

"Just... stop. Stop walking. Take a break to just breath and think." he told her.

Arya stopped.

"Bran said the hotel was very close to the hospital." she told Gendry once he was besides her.

"Alright. That's a lot hotels though."

She closed her eyes and exhaled. "King something." she said.

"King's Cross!" Gendry offered excitedly, but she shook her head. She looked around until she spotted a woman, and crossed to her. Gendry followed.

"Hi." Arya called to the woman. "A hotel. King something. It's near by."

"King's Cross?" the woman suggested. Arya shook her head.

"Kingsway?" the woman said, and this time Arya nodded and thanked her turning to Gendry.

"It's Kingsway."

Gendry nodded. They found a parked cab, and it took them to the hotel.

They received the same, possibly worse, treatment that they had received at the hospital as soon as they mentioned they were searching for the Starks.

Gendry pulled Arya by the arm just as she was about to start yelling at the girl behind the front desk.

"You don't want to draw attention to us." he whispered through clenched teeth as they made it for the exit. Arya shrugged his hand off her shoulder.

"I wasn't" she said and walked ahead of him, reaching the exit before him.

Gendry clenched a fist. _This girl. this girl will..._

"Oi. Over here." a voice called Gendry turned and saw a bellboy standing in front of the lifts. He beckoned Gendry over.

Gendry crossed to him casually.

"They left last night." the guy whispered as soon as Gendry was stood beside him.

"Where?" Gendry whispered back.

"I don't know, I just know they left. The son checked them out, around 2 am. Then this morning" the elevator doors opened and the guy stepped in. " this place was crawling with reporters."

"Thanks." Gendry told him as the door closed between them.

Arya was leaning against a pilar outside of the hotel, hands in her jean pockets, slouching forward so that she looked just like a boy of maybe 14.

"They're gone." he told her.

"How do you know?" she asked sceptically.

Gendry rolled his eyes. "Seems they actually release information to nice people. Nice people who ask decently. With manners. Doubt you know what those are."

Arya punched his arm.

"Point proved."

"Who told you they left?"

Gendry turned away from her and began walking down the sidewalk leaving Arya to follow. "Bellboy told me."

"Bloody hell!" she cursed under her breath.

Gendry stopped and turned to face her, nearly making her crash into him.

"Where would they've gone? Would they go back to Sheffield, or would they go somewhere else?"

Arya bit her lip, furrowing her eyebrows. She was running on empty. They both were.

"We need to eat." he grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her down the street. She didn't pull away this time. "It'll help you think." he chuckled, "Hopefully." he squeezed her shoulders teasingly. This time she did pull away, but not before she elbowed his ribs.

Gendry laughed as he rubbed his side.

xxxxxxxxxx

They had been at the hospital all morning. Cersei was the first to leave, but Joffrey wanted to stay longer, and Sansa didn't want to leave his side.

He had barely said a thing to her all day, staying by his father's bed as much as he was allowed. They were on their way back to the manor now, and Joffrey sat silently besides her on the back seat, looking out the window.

Sandor was behind the wheel. He'd taken the longer route, "for safety," he had grumbled in response to Joffrey's scolding face.

Sansa looked over to him, searching for the proper words to comfort him, and needing his comfort in return.

Thanks to the conversation she had with her mother last night, she felt more composed. But the knowledge of her father's death was eating her from the inside out. Slowly.

She stretched her hand to touch Joffrey's, but he pulled away at her touch.

"Joffrey." she said in a quiet voice. "I'm here. If you need to talk." She took a paused, wishing Sandor wasn't in the car with them. "I've lost my father. It's not the same, but..."

"You're right, it's not the same!" Joffrey snapped bitterly, turning to face her. "Justice killed your father. Betrayal killing mine!" he grabbed her hand in his, twisting it. Sansa gasped in pain.

"Don't try and compare yourself to me!" he released her.

Sansa grabbed her hand and pulled it to her chest. Tears fell from her eyes.

"Sandor. The lady needs fresh air. Pull over." Joffrey called out, looking Sansa up and down, his face twisted in disgust. "She can walk home."

"Joffrey." Sansa whimpered out, but he ignored her turning to the window.

"Now!" Joffrey yelled at Sandor, and the car began to edge, coming to a full stop next to a restaurant.

"Joffrey!" Sansa yelled, pulling his shoulder to make him face her.

"We both need to relax and clear our minds. Go." he barked as he pointed to the door.

She bit her lip and began to weep.

"Oh please!" Joffrey slid across the seat and reached over her to open the door. "It's just a walk you spoiled brat. I'm sure you can handle a _walk_." he pushed out of the car, but he was gentle, before he closed the door.

"Joffrey!" she yelled, but the car was already driving away.

Her hands clamped over her face as more tears came. She needed her mother. She needed her father. He needed Arya, oddly.

She wasn't sure how long she stood there, by the road as cars drove by, and the tears fell and fell, but when she finally wiped at them and straightened herself, she realized she didn't have her hand bag or her mobile. She could walk into one of the restaurants call herself a cab. But then she realized Landing's manor wasn't too far, and she welcomed the walk and the fresh air. Zipping up her jacket all the way to the top and tightening her scarf around her, she made her way up the road, walking slowly, thinking over everything.

Arya and Rickon were still missing, as well as Mordane. Her father was dead. Jon was dead. Her mother was so far away. Joffrey needed her, even if he tried to be strong. Even if he was cruel to her.

She was not excusing him. But she understood why he behaved the way he did.

_Perhaps I should join mother in Spain._

She quickly pushed that idea aside. Joffrey needed her. And she needed him.

It was while before she left urban Sheffield behind, and now she was surrounded by country on all sides. The manor wasn't far now. She'd easily be there within the hour.

Several passing cars offered her a ride, but she declined politely, even thought it was freezing.

She welcomed the cold. She hoped it would seep into her bones. She hoped it would numbed her feelings.

The sky was losing light quickly, and her feet had begun to grow tired, when she saw it.

Over the hill came two head lights and she recognized the car, even from a distance. She stopped walking, waiting as the car made a u turn and stopped a few meters ahead of her. She ran to it and opened the door, frowning when she realized who the driver was.

It was Sandor.

She had been hoping it would be Joffrey.

"Thank you." she said as she climbed in and closed the door. Sandor nodded once, turning the heater on full blast.

Sansa leaned her forehead against the window. This was Joffrey's doing. She was sure of it. She must go and thank him as soon as they arrive to Landing's. He will hopefully be in a better mood.

"If it's not too bold of me to ask," Sandor began abruptly, his deep voice startling her, "Why didn't you go with your mother? Why stay with _him_?"

"That _is_ too bold!" Sansa snapped. Sandor clenched his jaw, his hands tightening on the steering wheel. He said nothing more.

They drove a short while in silence before Sansa began feeling guilty for snapping at him.

"If you must know," she said, "His father is in the hospital. He needs me. I'm here to comfort him. We need each other...To comfort each other."

Sandor laughed, a dry, bitter laugh, stealing a glance at her. "He is doing a fucking fine job of comforting you." he said sarcastically.

"He's a difficult person! You know that. Everyone knows that. At times he can be harsh, but that's just..."

"Then why are you with him?" Sandor demanded.

Sansa's word caught in her mouth at the rawness of Sandor's question. It was as if the man had forgotten himself for that brief moment.

"Why are you?" Sansa demanded furiously when she'd found her words again.

The car swerved towards the curb, coming to a abrupt stop, making Sansa catch herself against the dashboard to keep herself from hitting her head on the windshiled.

Sandor breaths came out ragged besides her.

"I won't be for long." he whispered as he slowly turned to face her. "I'm leaving him."

Sansa blinked in shock. Her heart was beginning to slow now. "What?" she managed to gasp out. She knew how much Joffrey depended on Sandor's presence to feel more... powerful.

"I'm leaving him. For good. I don't know why I stayed this long." he paused briefly before leaning towards her and taking her delicate face in his large hands. "Your father... he was an innocent man. The Lannisters will make sure no one ever knows that." He paused, looking deep into her eyes. Sansa felt naked at that moment. Stripped of all pretense. She found she wanted to look away from his eyes. But something inside her kept her gaze fixed on his. "I can take you with me." he whispered, so close to her face. "I can take you to your mother. Take you away from him."

A mixture of emotions swirled inside her at that moment. Fear. Hope. Longing. Loneliness. Fear, again.

Loyalty.

She wanted to. To see her mother and brothers again. To comfort them and be comforted. To be free. It wasn't until just now, that she realized she felt trapped with the Lannisters . . . caged . . . And she wanted out.

"I can't." she whispered shakily.

Sandor released her face, as if it had burned him. Strangely, Sansa hated the sudden absence of of heat his hands brought her face.

His eyes slowly left hers and he pulled away from her, switching the gear to drive. The car moved forward.

Sansa instantly regretted her choice, but she couldn't bring herself to tell him.

It wasn't far before they reached King's lane. Sansa listened to the hiss of the gravel road under the tires as she searched her head for a way of telling Sandor she had changed her mind. She would leave with him. She realized she trusted him.

The car pulled up in front of the manor, coming to a stop, but Sandor didn't turn the engine off and Sansa didn't move to open the door. She turned to face him, but he was looking away from her, out the window.

The lilac sky was grasping on to the last bit of light the sun had left behind after it set.

She parted her lips, about to speak, but he spoke first.

"Joffrey didn't send me, so it's best you don't go thank him."

Sansa mouth closed. She felt like an idiot.

"Well are you getting off or not?" he barked. _Not._ "I'd like to get a head start if you don't mind."

"You're leaving now?" she heard the disappointment in her voice.

He nodded, still not meeting her eyes.

For as long as she could remember, Sandor had worked for the Baratheons. He had been there during their trip that summer. Never leaving Joffrey's side.

She had grown used to him. His presence. The little things he helped her with. A hand when mounting a horse. Opening doors for her. The handkerchief he gave her on the ride back to the manor after the incident at Cutler's Hall, when she couldn't stop crying.

She still had that, somewhere in her room.

He had in a way, not only been there for Joffrey all this time, but for her too.

_In a way, he's leaving me too._

"Good luck." she said quickly and she opened the door and jumped out.

She turned, about to close the door, when she noticed he was reaching behind her seat to pick up her bag.

"Good bye little bird. I hope you make it out of this cage alive." he whispered tenderly as he pushed the bag into her hands.

"I will." she nodded, with more determination than she'd ever heard in her voice before. Her heart began to race as she slammed the door, and the car roared forward, down King's lane, towards the main road, leaving behind a thin cloud of dust.

Before she knew it, she had dropped her bag, and she was running after the car, waving her hands in the air.

It came to a sudden stop, nearly at the main road, before it started backing up in reverse. Towards her.

It stopped right besides her and he rolled the window down.

"I.." she gasped out, grabbing her sides as she caught her breath.

Sandor didn't wait for her to say anything else. He turned to the buttons in his door and unlocked the door.

"Get in." he said.

xxxxxxxxxx

"Sansa and Rickon are still up in Sheffield." Arya told Gendry after she had swallowed the food in her mouth.

"So you think they'll go back?" Gendry asked, wiping his fingers on his napkin.

Arya shook her head. She was sure her mother was worried sick about Rickon and Sansa, but she was a smart woman.

"Things back home are a mess. Bran is in a wheelchair, and Rickon and Sansa have Mordane."

"Who's that?"

"She's been with us all our lives. Like an au pair."

"So...Sheffield, or no?" Gendry asked, taking a sip from his drink.

"Mother will go there, eventually. But first there's Bran. I don't think she wants to drag Bran anywhere. The only place she could trust leaving him at would be my grandfather's"

Gendry nodded, "Alright, where's that?"

"Spain." Arya said.

She had was expecting Gendry to give up then and there. Ever since she heard the argument between him and Yoren earlier that morning, she had been expecting him to leave her. She wouldn't blame him.

He hadn't so far. It had just been a day, though. Less than a day, technically. A very long day though, that had given him more than enough chances to go his own way.

_He has his own issues and problems._

He seemed loyal to her, for some reason. Perhaps, she told herself, it was because Gendry was different.

"Spain then?" he didn't sound too excited.

"You don't have to do this, you know? I can find my way alone."

He nodded in agreement, taking a handfull of chips and pushing them in his mouth. "You're right." he said as he chewed.

Arya's gaze fell to the food in her plate. _So . . . he's leaving._

"Now, wouldn't going to Spain just be like playing catch-up with your family? You said your mother will eventually end up there anyway."

"They left last night," Arya poked at a chunk of meat with her fork. "That's not such a large gap. Besides i'd rather go to Spain than back home."

"Me too." Gendry agreed tossing his napkin over his food and pushing his plate away. "I have no idea what's waiting for me back there, but I'm not in any hurry to find out."

Arya peeked up at him through her bangs. _That's why he's staying with me. To avoid facing the whole Robert issue._

"We should head to the station then." he stood from his seat and shouldered Yoren's bag. Arya nodded. Whatever his reasons were, she was glad of his company.

At St. Pancras, the man behind the window at the ticket office told them the Eurostar had cancelled services until the next day.

"We open our office at 4:30 am Monday." he told them.

"Thank you. We'll be back." Gendry turned headng for the exit.

"What now?" Arya asked as she tried to keep up with him.

"We come back tomorrow. Find a place to stay tonight."

"What about flying there?"

He just shook his head.

"Why not?"

"Because, Arya! You may have a new look, but I don't! It won't be long before our faces are all over the news. A fucking new name doesn't won't make a difference. They take way longer at the airport check points than they do here. I'm not walking into an airport." he told her, holding the door open for her.

_I could just leave without him. Leave him behind._

She considered it brieflt before she realized she couldn't. They were in this together.

Gendry found a hotel near by and checked them in for the night.

After a long day of running in the cold, walking into the warm hotel room felt a bit surreal.

Arya threw herself on one of the beds, exhaling out her exhaustion.

"I call the shower." Gendry announced as he set Yoren's bag down on the dresser.

Arya needed to pee, but just as she was about to tell him, he closed the bathroom door behind him. She sighed, rolling on her side briefly, to remove her boots, before falling on her back once more.

She went over everything that had happened so far, re-living it hesitantly.

"I'm sorry father." she said, closing her eyes against the tears that quickly welled in her eyes. "They'll pay. They _will_ pay."

Her mind found its way to the man she had killed. The lifeless body lying on the alley floor. Her eyes snapped open.

She rolled off the bed and walked to the bag. The shower water was already running.

She found her gun and pulled it out, walking back to her bed. She only had that one lesson with Syrio, but it had been enough to help her kill a man.

The night of her first and only lesson, Arya had stayed awake waiting for Bran to call her. She wanted to tell him all about Syrio and about the story the strange man told her.

"Fear cuts deeper than swords." she quoted.

Bran never called her back, but Arya still stayed up most of the night, too excited to fall asleep, and a thought had crossed her mind. If she ever killed someone, it would change her. She would become someone else. Killing someone would change who she was and how she thought and lived. The minute a bullet of hers took the life of someone would be the minute that Arya would no longer be Arya. In her place would be a darker form of herself.

That man she killed today was going to kill Gendry, and so Arya killed him. But she still felt a darkness seeping into her heart.

She wondered if, when Jon had bought the gun, the same thoughts had crossed his mind. _Probably._ Not long after he bought the gun, he joined the army.

Arya would join the army too, after all of this was over. She'd considered it for quite some time, but now she was sure that was what she wanted.

The thought made her smile as she hugged her gun, turning to her side. Her thoughts found Jon. Jon in uniform. Jon's letters. And she found bittersweet sleep.

Then Gendry was shaking her awake.

"Arya, you fell asleep with your gun." he told her as he took it from her hands.

Arya eyes blinked heavily, and the first thing she saw was his wet, bare chest. Her eyes flung open and sprung off the pillow.

His thick black hair fell across his blue eyes, still wet from the shower. He only wore the jeans he had bought earlier. No shirt. Arya bit her lip uncomfortably and averted her eyes from his chest.

"You should be careful with this." Gendry placed the gun on the night table between their beds. Arya stole a quick glance at him out of the corner of her eye. Her eyes fell on his chest and arms, instead of his face.

_He looks strong._

"Who taught you how to use a gun?" her eyes snapped away from his body and met his, feeling a blush creep into her face.

"Syrio. A friend of fathers. I only had one lesson with him though."

"Well that was more than enough, apparently." Gendry picked up a towel from the bed and passed it over his hair a few times before dropping it on the floor and picking up the gun. He shifting it around from one hand to the other, feeling the weight of it before pulling out the magazine and tossing it on his bed.

In one quick move, he had the gun pointed at Arya.

"Give me your wallet." he said.

Arya caught on quickly, jumping to her feet. She tried to push the gun away from her but Gendry was quicker.

"_Bang!_ You're dead." he said.

"Again." Arya said, her eyes twinkling with challenge.

Gendry turned his back to her, starting for the door, but then swiftly spun around and pointed the gun inches from her face.

"Car keys, now!" he growled. She bit her lip in thought, before lunging at him.

"Bang. Dead again."

"I moved it out of the way on time." she complained.

"An attacker keeps his finger on the trigger. Any flinch in movement on your part will make him pull the trigger. Last night, outside of my flat, I came a split second away from killing you. It takes a lot of control to keep from doing that."

"So when can I disarm then?"

Gendry pointed the gun at her face. "Wait for them to talk, or when you're talking yourself. It distracts them from the trigger. Or, if he asks you to do something, like to walk towards him, or he says, _put your hands in the air_, or asks you to hand something over, that's the perfect moment. He is already expecting you to move."

"Ok, so, if for example..." Arya grabbed the gun and pointed it to the side, twisting his wrist sideways. He released it, and Arya grabbed it with her left hand, pointing it at him.

He smiled. "Something like that." He disarmed her.

"It's about speed, yes. But talking helps. Like I said, it distracts. Don't hesitate though. He sure won't."

Arya nodded, taking a mental note of it all.

They practiced over and over again, several times, changing the scenarios around.

"You're a quick learner." he complimented with a smile. She smiled too, bringing him to roll his eyes.

Suddenly he had tossed the gun on his bed and he grabbed her, falling with her on her bed.

"Your attacker won't always use a gun." he whispered in her ear.

Arya struggled to free herself, but his arms had hers locked down on the bed.

"I've _almost_ freed myself from you before." she groaned breathlessly as she tried wiggling herself free. He pushed her face down on the mattress with one hand and then held his right forearm down on her neck, and then moved the other to lock her wrists.

"I was neither trying to rob or rape you." he said and then he released her.

She turned on her back and kicked his shoulder. Gendry fell to the floor, landing on his side, and Arya jumped on him, locking her arms around his neck in a choke hold. Her face pressed against the side of his, and she could smell the soap on his ear. He pushed back, and her back slammed against the front of the night table, nearly knocking the lamp off.

Gendry twisted his torso to his right, and pulled his head out of her arms and grabbed both of her wrists and twisted her down to the floor, straddling her hips and putting his hands around her neck, locking her down once more.

Her legs began to kick, but the beds were on either side of them and she had little room to move. She reached for his face, but her arms were too short. He laughed, which made her angry and she began slamming her fists all along his arms, which only made him laugh harder.

"You're long raped and killed by now, your body tossed by some dustbin in an alley." he cried out in amusement and then released her neck, ready to stand. Arya limberly brought her left knee towards her chest and quickly kicking her foot towards his groin. She missed him by an inch and he fell forward, his face nearly knocking into hers. Instead, it his the floor besides her, and he groaned in pain. Arya became aware of the positiong they were in. His body straddling her hips, his chest pressed against hers, his right cheek against hers.

This was the closest she'd ever been to his face. He was so close, that when he pulled his forehead off the floor, Arya could feel his warm breath on her face. Their eyes met for a brief second, then he blinked quickly, clearing his throat and holding on to the side of a bed to stand. He offered her a hand and she stood up, feeling the heat on her face.

They shared a brief look.

"You're lucky you missed my balls." he snapped his fingers, pointing one at her. "I almost cracked my skull with yours."

She rolled her eyes. "I should shower." she said, crossing towards the bathroom quickly, slamming and locking the door behind her, and leaning her back against it. There was squirrels inside her stomach.

"Stupid, stupid Gendry."

**AN**

**This chapter came later than i expected. I apologize. I had an order of costumes I had to finish and turn in by Saturday.**

**BTW, that's what I do. I am a costumer! That and a tax agent :)**

**Anyway.**

**We're going to Spain! WOO!**

**I'll have fun researching Spain, so I'm excited.**

**We have a bit of a Sansa POV.** **A reader asked me if there will be more Sansa POV.** **Yes, as you may have guessed after this chapter. However this is still an Arya/Gendry fic, and I waited too long for chapter 10 to bring them together to have them upstaged.**

**I put in a few more book references in this chapter. Like the "He's strong" line replaced by the "he looks strong."**

**Also, a freshly showered Gendry, which i missed in the show, and soap smelling ears, and a re write of the** **Acorn Hall wrestle.**

**Also, I've made the trailer for this fanfic, i will post the YouTube link on my fanfic profile. Tell me what you think.**

**Thanks for all your reviews. Keep the coming!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Warning: There is some Spanish in this chapter. Not a lot. There will be more in the next chapter. I'll have the translation at the end of each chapter. **

**I apologize for the inconvenience**

Gendry ran quickly towards the public phone next to and yanked the door open. He pulled the phone off the receiver and began feeding it coins as soon as he heard the dial tone.

The numbers he punched in where number he oddly knew by memory.

"Come on, come on, come one." He prayed for an answer. There was none.

Gendry cursed and collected the coins, trying once more.

It only rang twice, then someone picked up.

_"Hello?" _

"Brienne! It's Gendry. Don't say my name! Please. Are you alone?" he asked

_"No."_ She sounded confused and hesitant.

"Are you at work?" He could hear his heart beating in his ears.

"_Yes."_ she said stiffly.

"Go outside. Make sure no one is around. Tell me when you're alone." Gendry said.

He could hear a few familiar voices in the background, then the slide of the doors, then what sounded like raindrops falling on an umbrella.

_"I'm alone. Gendry where are you? I thought you were dead! You have no idea what everyone is saying here. All the stories that are going around about Yoren, Ned and You!"_

Gendry was a bit taken aback. He had never heard her this upset before.

"None are true. Don't believe anything. This thing with Ned. It's bullshit. He's innocent."

_"I know that! Where are you?"_

"I can't tell you. And it's not you, it's just that I can't say anything without having to tell you everything. It's just too complicated."

_"Gendry, I..."_

"Listen to me, Brienne, I don't have a lot of time, I need you to do something for me."

_"What?" _He could tell she was angry.

"Don't ask me why, but I need you to come to London."

_"London?"_ Brienne breathed out, barely audible over the rain in the background.

"Remember this, it's important Brienne. I am standing outside of St. Pancras. Station. I'm on Euston Rd. almost crossing with Midland Rd. I'm standing facing the receiver. To my right I can see the clock tower. Behind me is the Borough Council building. It's a white building. It's across the street from O'Neils. A blue pub... Are you getting all of this?"

_"Yes."_ Brienne said sharply. Good girl, Gendry thought.

"Directly behind me, across the street from the telephone, on the Borough, the white building, there is a window box. You'll see them all along the building. On the third one to the left, and you're facing the building now, you'll find a small blue bag, hidden inside amongst the plants. I need you to come get it. Please. Don't ask why. Just do it for me. It's very important. I need you to come get it."

The line began to beep. He had a minute left.

_"Gendry..."_

"Brienne, the call is about to end. I need you to do this for me. Please. It's important. Drop whatever you're doing and get here as soon as you can. For me."

_"I will." _she told him.

"Thank you Brienne." _I hope to see you soon, _he thought.

_"Take care of yourself Gendry." _

_"You too, Brienne. And Brienne...thanks."_

The call ended.

Gendry place the phone back in place and ran out of the booth and towards the station.

He felt confident though. He trusted Brienne. He knew she would go through with it, no matter what obstacles crossed her.

He almost felt guilty about making her come all the way over here, but his only comfort was that this was all for Arya.

xxxxxxxxxx

_Arya stood at the center of the hall, her gun in her hand, pointed straight up in the air._

_The music was loud, and the lights were dim. Couples danced around her, glancing occasionally at her , then the gun in her hand, before turning their attention back to dancing._

_She fired 3 shots to get everyone's attention._

_They all turned to look at her, and she felt a knot in her throat as she prepared to speak._

_"Uh..In..Uh..." she stuttered stupidly. _

_Someone in the crowd cleared their throat loudly and she felt her face heat._

_She chewed on her lip to keep calm._

_"Uhmm... In a few minutes.. in a few minutes Robert Baratheon will step on stage to give a speech..."_

_She had everyone's attention. Everyone was staring at her. All eyes, burning holes on her._

_"A speech he won't finish. Because someone will shoot him."_

_No one reacted to that. They just kept on staring at her._

_"My father will be blamed. Robert's men will take him to the basement, and kill him."_

_She surprised herself at how easy it was to speak that with out betraying her pain with her voice. She felt ready to burst._

_Still, there was no reaction._

_"And..." her voice broke. " I won't be able to stop them." she sobbed out._

_Everyone began shaking their heads at her and she starting sobbing harder, chocking out apologies. _

_Suddendly everyone's attention turned to Robert who was already standing on stage, a bright spotlight on him._

_"Ready?" someone spoke into her ear. When she turned, she came face to face with Syrio._

_He stretched her hands forward and pointed the gun at Robert._

_"Remember to breath. Time your breath with the shot." he said, and then he was gone._

_Arya turned to face the stage, where Robert stood. _

_Her gun pointed straight at him._

_She took in a breath. _

_Then another. And then she shot him._

Arya woke to the shriek of a crying baby.

She was in the train. Sitting next to Gendry.

She put her hands over her face and leaned forward, taking in several deep breaths.

"You ok?" Gendry asked next to her.

She nodded. She didn't want to sleep anymore.

Every time she did, she saw them.

Her father. Robert. The blood.

She didn't want to close her eyes either.

"Are we almost there?" she spoke into her hands. She had been in enough trains to last her a lifetime.

Gendry sighed, and she already knew the answer. "No. It's been like, 4 hours or something." he said.

Arya groaned, sitting up straight and turning in her seat until she heard her back pop.

They had taken a train from London to Paris early Monday morning, where she had to part with her gun.

Arya and Gendry had argued about it, but in reality there was nothing to argue about.

There was simply no way to travel with their guns. All thanks to the x ray checks at the station.

Gendry had bought a small blue bag at one of the shops in the station, where he hid both guns, intending to leave them behind at the station, but as they came near the left luggage department they noticed that they, too, had secure screening.

There was no other choice but to leave the guns behind.

Arya felt like crying as he saw Gendry run out of the station with the small blue bag that held her gun.

It was all she had left of Jon.

The only thing he left behind, and he'd left it to her. And now it was gone.

It made Arya's stomach turn every time she remembered it.

The train they were on now was going to Barcelona._ Finally!_

Due to weather, they had to stay a night in Paris.

It was the last thing either of them wanted. Her mother could be on her way to Sheffield by now.

If she wasn't there already.

They were depending so much on the "ifs" of the situation.

If they are in Spain.

If they catch up to them.

That's all Arya had thought. And she held on to it.

Gendry promised her that they could practice more self defense again that night at the hotel, so she had something to look forward to. Something to keep her mind off everything and help tire her into a dream less sleep.

They spent their day in Paris shopping for anything they needed. Gendry bought them toiletries, pajamas, a jacket for Arya, and a scarf, gloves and hat set for both of them since it had been snowing when they arrived to Paris, and had still been snowing the morning after, when they left.

Arya looked out of the train window and saw nothing but white. White above and white below. Only a small strip of light trying to seep it's way through the thick clouds.

It was beautiful.

Arya was sure Nymeria would have loved it. She had always been fond of snow. They both were.

Thinking of her dog made her even more homesick than she already felt.

It was like a hole that grew larger the more time went by.

She hoped Mordane and Rickon were taking good care of her.

She missed Rickon. Sansa and Mordane not as much.

Just a little.

Sansa was sure to freak when she saw her short hair. Arya smiled, despite herself.

That was something she looked forward. The look on her family when they saw her.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the seat, relishing the small moment of amusement.

xxxxxxxxxx

Brienne lazily walked up the stairs to her apartment, Gendry's small blue bag in one hand, and her car keys in the other.

She was exhausted. The cold had soaked into her bones and the drive had knotted her back. But she had it.

Gendry's blue bag was safe with her, as she had promised.

It was a small accomplishment, but she still felt proud of herself.

She still had no idea what was inside, but she had fought the curiosity the whole drive back to Sheffield, and she told herself she wouldn't snoop.

She slid her apartment key in and turned it, grateful to be home.

The smell of a freshly baked cake welcomed her.

"I'm home!" she called and hung her keys on the key hook by the door, heading straight to her bedroom.

The room was small, but neat. Brienne set Gendry's bag on her dresser and walked to her closet and pulled her shoes off.

"Where have you been?" came the voice from the kitchen.

"I told you, i had to run an errand!" she yelled, shouldering off her thick jacket and hanging it in her closet.

She walked out of her room and towards the kitchen.

Wearing only sweatpants and an apron, stood her roommate, pastry bag in hand, bent over a cake he was carefully decorating with a steady pulse.

"No. All you did was send a text message saying, _stuff to do, don't wait up_. You never told me anything."

Brienne hadn't yet grown used to sharing her apartment with the handsome young man, and on several occasions, such as this one, she found herself staring at his bare chest.

She tore her eyes away from the exposed skin and her eyes fell on the cake that sat on the table.

"What's the occasion?" she asked as she walked to the table and dipped a finger in the small bowl with leftover frosting.

"It's our one month anniversary!" he said enthusiastically, setting the pastry bag down.

Brienne raised the frosting covered finger to her mouth. "Oh. Nice." she said sarcastically, but he didn't seem to notice.

He was too busy untying his apron.

He pulled it over his head with one hand and tugged down his sweatpants with the other as he walked towards his room.

Brienne's eyes followed him, and she caught a glimpse of his ass before he closed his bedroom door behind him.

"I thought we had rules!" she yelled across the room and walked to the refrigerator to get herself a beer.

He walked out of his room a few moments later wearing a blue shirt and beige slacks. Her favorite outfit on him.

"Huh?" he asked as he walked into her room. "Could I borrow a scarf. Looks like it might snow."

"Rules, Renly. Rules. The naked rules." she said as she followed him into her room. "I'm still a girl. I know we're mates and all, but I don't want to see your scrawny, naked body all the time!" she said.

Renly turned from her closet to face her, an impish smile on his face. "I am not scrawny." he said.

Brienne rolled her eyes and walked to her dresser, pulling a drawer open. "That's just a lie Loras tells you to get into you pants." she pulled out a scarf and tossed it at him.

He laughed at that.

"So what were you doing today?" he followed her out of the room into the living room.

Brienne sat herself on the sofa, taking a swig from her beer. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Renly fixing the scarf around his neck. He was never this curious about what she did.

She wiped her mouth and noticed he still stood there, waiting for her answer.

"I was doing a mate a favor. That's it?"

"Why are you being so dodgy?" he asked.

Brienne's eyes grew wide. "Why are you being so pushy!" she snapped at him.

His eyes fell to the floor. "Sorry."

Brienne closed her eyes. He was so sensitive sometimes.

"You just tell me everything. Without me ever having to ask."

She hated this.

The effect he had over her. How much she cared.

"It really was just that Ren." she assured him.

"I know." he told her.

He drapped his coat over one arm and picked up the cake off the table with the other.

"Don't wait up." he told her and kissed her forehead.

She nodded, her gaze following him out the door.

He turned to her right before closing the door and gave her a small smile, and for a split second, he looked just like Gendry.

It wan't the first time she had noticed it.

The day she started working at the station, Gendry was the first person she noticed, and it had been because of his eerie resemblance to Renly.

A few days later, the men had asked her to tag along for a drink.

That was the night she had kicked the shit out of Theon and Gendry had walked up to her to congratulate her for it. That's when she really got a good look at him.

They both had dark hair, and blue eyes, but Gendry's jaw was squarer and his brows bushier. He was younger too. Not by a lot, though.

At the thought of Gendry, her mind traveled to the blue bag.

Curiosity still nagged at her.

But she wouldn't open it.

She sighed and stood from the sofa, pulling her shirt off, and then her bra, tossing them over her shoulder.

It felt kinda nice to just strip without worrying that someone might walk in. Just like it had been before Renly moved in.

She glanced back at her shirt and bra on the living room floor. She'd pick them up later. She was sure Renly wouldn't return until tomorrow.

Right now she needed a long shower.

She walked towards the bathroom, but something caught her eyes outside the window.

It was snowing. She smiled.

Winter was here.

xxxxxxxxxx

Gendry's hand was on her shoulder, guiding her through the tight crowd of people, towards the car rental offices.

The station was loud and too packed due to train delays and cancelations. It was taking forever to move though the people.

Arya could feel Gendry begin to grow frustrated. His jaw was clenched, and he communicated mostly with his eyes.

Something she had strangely grown used to.

His eyes said so much that he could reprimand with one look, as well call her over to him.

Right now, his eyes were saying, "I want to get out of here."

If she walked too far, he caught up and placed his hand back on her shoulder, keeping her as close to him as possible.

He was treating her like a child.

"I think we should try another car rental place." he said into her ear. "I doubt we'll get anything here. This place is mad crowded."

Arya looked around.

He was right.

"Alright!" she yelled, and they began pushing their way to the closest exit.

Outside, snow dusted most surfaces, but it wasn't snowing, so it was very cold.

Arya asked for directions to a near by car rental place, and thankfully there was one very close by.

"She said to take the underground railway. Line 5. We should get off on the first stop."

They ran in the direction the woman had pointed, coming to the stairs going underground.

"What's the place called?" Gendry called up to her. He was a few steps below her.

Arya was trying to keep up with him, but her large jacket made it hard for her.

"Sixt. That what the lady called it." Arya said, accidentally knocking her shoulder against a guy in front of her.

The guy dropped something, but Arya was already too ahead of him to help or apologize.

"Vigila, hijo de puta!" he cried after her.

Arya stopped in her tracks and whirled around.

The guy she had accidentally knocked against and a blonde haired guy, probably his friend, walked down the few stairs between them and Arya, and came face to face with her.

"Que has dicho?" Arya asked, trying to stand as tall as she could.

It was useless. Both guys towered over her.

The one she had accidentally bumped into was the tallest of the two, and fat.

His friend, the blonde, was less intimidating, but almost as tall.

Arya wasn't scared of them though, and she stood her ground.

The fat one pushed Arya back by the shoulder, and she flew down the stairs.

"Oi!" Gendry called as he climbed up the stairs towards her.

The fall had hurt, but she still stood before Gendry reached her.

The two guys walked down to meet Gendry, who stood taller than both, even when he stood a step below them.

Gendry easily was the strongest of the three.

The curly haired one was all fat, and the blonde seemed to be all talk, no action.

Gendry looked down at them, daring either of them to hit him with his eyes.

They rolled their eyes and walk around him and down the stairs, ignoring Arya.

Gendry turned to her, "What's your problem?"

"Nothing!" Arya said.

She wasn't used to having someone look after her this way. She was capable of handling her own. Everyone always told her that.

Yet Gendry had assigned himself the role of her protector and for some reason that filled her with anger. Anger and something else she couldn't identify.

Whatever it was, all it ended up making her do was push. He pulled and she pushed. Pushed away.

She would push away until he stopped pulling.

Until he realized she didn't need help.

She could take care of herself.

They waited a few minutes on the platform before their line arrived and Arya noticed the two fat guy and the blonde guy were standing near by, staring at them.

Gendry seemed to notice it too.

Their _metro_ arrived and Gendry and Arya were the first to walk in as soon as the doors slid open.

They sat right infront of the doors.

To her annoyance, the blonde and the fat guy followed them in and sat across from them, right next to the doors.

They wouldn't stop staring at Arya, and it took all she had inside her to keep from just walking up to them and pushing her fingers into their eyes.

A few more people walked in before the doors closed and the car began to move.

A flute like ring played over the speaker, then a male voice spoke.

Gendry turned to Arya. "What did it say?" he whispered.

Arya shook her head. "Something about the next stop. I didn't catch it."

The blonde snorted at that, making both Arya and Gendry turn to face him.

"It's the first stop right?" Gendry asked. Arya nodded.

It was a short ride, about two minutes, when they saw the platform again.

Gendry and Arya stood before the car came to a stop, ready at the door.

It happened quickly though, but Arya had somehow already expected it.

As soon as they came to a full stop and the doors slid open, the blonde pulled the bag off Gendry's shoulder and ran out of the car, while the fat one pushed Arya to the floor so she would fall infront of Gendry's feet, before running out himself, in the opposite direction.

Gendry stumbled over Arya, but he was out of the car and running in the direction the blonde had gone.

A man helped Arya up and asked if she was ok, but she ignore him and was already running herself.

She ran up the stairs, her steps weighed down by the jacket.

The bag had all of their money. Their papers...

But Gendry was fast, she told herself. He would catch the idiot. He had always caught up to her all those time he had arrested her. And she considered herself to be a fast runner.

_Not with this stupid jacket._

As soon as she emerged to the top she caught a glimpse of them turning a corner into another street.

"Gendry!" she yelled after him. But then she lost sight of them both behind a building.

"Bloody hell!" she yelled at her jacket as she tugged it open and threw it on the floor.

It was cold, but she was able to run better.

She ran around the building and caught sight of them again. Way at the end of the street.

The blonde was on the floor and Gendry had the bag.

Arya sighed with relief.

She turned around, headed back the way she came go find her jacket, but something caught her eye through the window of a small pawn shop.

A bell announced her entrance and the man behind he counter looked up from playing his guitar and smiled.

"Buenas tardes." Arya said.

There was two other men behind the display cases. A large man with a stern brow and bad teeth, and a young, red head boy who sat on a small, lit table, fixing what looked like a crossbow.

He glanced up at her quick before turning his attention back to the crossbow.

"Como puedo ayudarte?" the man with the guitar asked in a friendly tone.

Arya walked up to the glass case to the far left of the room and looked inside.

She looked over each gun until one finally caught her eye.

"Cuanto cuesta?" she turned to the man with the guitar and pointed at the gun through the glass.

He chuckled and looked at the large man behind him, then at the red head.

All three if them were staring at her now.

"Quieres comprar un arma?" he asked in disbelief.

She nodded, which made them all laugh.

"Por que diablos quieres un arma" he cried out, still laughing.

Arya bit her lip to keep herself from snapping at them.

A fourth man walked in from the back room. His hair and beard were a tangled mess. He looked as though he had been asleep.

He looked Arya up and down before turning to the guitar man.

"Que esta passant, Tom?" he asked him.

"El chico quiere comprar un arma." the red head answered from where he was. He was clearly amused.

The bearded man turned to Arya again and smiled.

"Este no es un chico." he said and walked around the counter, towards her. She took a step back.

"I know who you are." he said to her in a low voice, before turning to the others. "She's that Stark girl."

"From the news? The daughter of that cop?" the red head asked as he stood.

The bell rang and eveyone turned to the door. Gendry had walked in, the bag once again hanging from his shoulder.

He froze, looking at each of the men before his eyes fell on Arya.

"What are you doing?" he asked her and signaled to the door with his head. She took a step towards him, but the bearded man put his hand on her shoulder.

"Your friend just wanted to see our guns." he told Gendry.

"We're fine. Thank you." Gendry said rudely and held his hand out to Arya. "Lets go." he said sternly.

She shrugged the man's hand off, but by then, the tall man had walked around the room and was now standing between them and the door.

Arya stepped towards him. "Move out of the way, and no one has to get hurt." she said boldly, which brought a roar of laughter from all of the men.

Arya fumed.

"Do as she says," Gendry said, stepping next to her, "We don't want trouble."

"Why, neither do we." said the bearded man behind them. "Right Arya?"

Arya turned to face him. He was smilling down at her. "Lem." he nodded to the man behind Gendry.

She turned in time to see the man hit Gendry in the head with a marble bust.

Gendry fell to the floor.

He was unconscious.

An anger rose inside of Arya at the sight of her unconscious friend that surprised even her.

She let out a cry, and lunged herself at Lem. He lost his balance and fell to the floor.

Her fist began falling repeatedly over his face, and surprisingly, she saw blood pouring out from his nose.

Then arms grabbed her and she was being pulled away from him, but she still punched and kicked and clawed, until she felt a sharp pain in her head, and everything went black.

**Translations:**

**Fat Guy/ Hot Pie: Vigila, hijo de puta = watch it, you son of a bitch**

**Arya: Que has dicho? = What did you say?**

**...**

**Arya: Buenas tardes = Good afternoon**

**Tom : Como puedo ayudarte = How may i help you**

**Arya: Cuanto cuesta? = How much does this cost?**

**Tom: Quieres comprar un arma? = You want to buy a gun?**

**Tom: Por que diablos quieres un arma = What the fuck do you want a gun for?**

**Harwin: (Catalan) Que esta passant, Tom = What's going on Tom?**

**Anguy: El chico quiere comprar un arma = the boy wants to buy a weapon.**

**Harwin: Este no es un chico = This one is not a boy**

**...**

**AN**

**So! This in this chapter, i've added some more character. We have Renly, We have our lovely Brotherhood's Tom Sevenstrings, Anguy, and Lem Lemoncloak! WOO**

**We also have a cameo of Hot Pie and Lommy. Sadly that's the last you'll see of them. **

**I needed someone to lead Arya and Gendry to the pawn shop, and they fit the part. **

**I'm really excited about the coming chapters, and I hope you all enjoy them**

**I want to thank "Solemia" from Madrid and "egaara" from Barcelona, who are being so nice about answering questions I have about Spain and locations and all the good technical stuff. **

**Let me know how I'm doing!**

**And for the rest of you! Write a review! Let me know what ya'll think so far. **

**How do you feel about the new additions? About the pacing? About the Spanish?**

**Let me know! Like I've mentioned, Reviews fuel me!**

**Thanks for all of those who have reviewed!**


	15. Chapter 15

"That ungrateful dog will pay! The bastard!" Joffrey spat out for the billionth time.

Jaimie was filling two glasses with scotch, and had his back to everyone, so he felt at liberty to roll his eyes.

Joffrey was his son, but the boy had never seen him as a father, and all he ever saw him as was a whiny little momma's boy.

No. That drunk tub of guts dying in the hospital bed had that place in Joffrey's life. And to be honest, Jaimie didn't mind.

His proudest accomplishment had been Myrcella and he was not ashamed to say it. Even when Cersei reprimanded him about it.

Joffrey had always been her favorite and she had never even tried to hide the fact.

Jaimie poured scotch into the second glass and turned to face Joffrey.

"Yes, nephew. You've been saying that. Over and over again." Jaimie said as he walked up to his sister.

"Well it's as true now as it was all those other times!" Joffrey said sourly.

Cersei who was siting on a chaise, by the grand piano, giving Jaime a warning look that made him hold his tongue.

He handed her one of the glasses. "Perhaps if you hadn't kept him on such a short leash, he wouldn't have run away. God knows, even I'd run away if I had to spend all 24 hours with the likes of him" Jaime whispered the last to himself as he set his glass down on top of the piano and lifted the lid.

Joffrey could be such tiresome company at times.

_Lets be honest now, Jaime. He is tiresome all that time. _

He smiled at himself, and sat on the piano bench.

"I've always told you, my love, that you can't trust any one. That everyone ..."

"Yes, yes mother... everyone who isn't us is our enemy. I was just stupid enough to think that dog was part of us." Joffrey let out frustrated.

Jaime began playing a slow melody, his fingers touching the black and white keys delicately.

For a second there, it sounded as though Joffrey had actually cared for Clegane enough to considered him part of "us".

A silly thought, but perhaps possible in some crazy alternate reality where Joffrey actually cared for anyone other than himself.

"Well he wasn't." Cersei said as she pulled out her cigarette case from some unseen pocket of her dress.

Jaime stopped playing and reached into his shirt pocket for his lighter, sliding to the edge of the bench, closer to Cersei.

"Find comfort, my son, in knowing that none of _us_ will ever leave you." Cersei said before placing a cigarette between her lips and leaning into Jaime so he'd light it.

She took a deep breath of smoke, before turning to one side to exhale.

"Isn't that right, little dove." she said, and everyone in the room turned their attention to the Stark girl, who was sitting quietly by a lamp, the only sorce of light in the room, and reading a book.

The girl glance up from her book and shared a quick look with Cersei before turning her eyes to Joffrey, who had crossed the room to the table to fill his glass.

"Of course not. Joffrey is my everything." she said with a small smile before her eyes fell back to her book.

There was something odd about that girl. She hadn't been herself for days now. Not just because of her father's death. There was something else that had changed.

Cersei held her cigarette case open for him, but he shook his head at it and turned his attention to the piano once more.

His twin stood from the chaise and walked right behind him, placing both hands on his shoulders.

"Remember that favor?" she whispered very close to his ear.

A whorl of smoke rose from her lips as she spoke, burning Jaime's eyes.

"Not infront of the children!" he teased.

Cersei chuckled forcefully.

"What favor?" he asked in a serious tone, changing the rhythm of his fingers so they played a more somber melody.

"Clegane's gone," she crossed to the coffee table and tapped her cigarette ashes in the ash tray.

She was stood behind him once more and she leaned close to him once more, so that only he could hear.

"I was counting on him to get me the information I need." she whispered.

"Oh." Jaime rolled his eyes. "You want me to do it now."

"Because you're the only one i trust. I want to keep this as privy as possible."

Jaime stopped playing. "So what exactly would I be doing."

Cersei's lips brushed against his ear as she whispered. "Find everything you can on Gendry Waters."

Jaime consciously stopped himself from shuddering. He slammed the piano lid close and turned on his seat to face her.

She looked breathtaking in this light.

"And what do I get in return for my investigative services?" he raised his brows suggestively, bringing a smile from her lips.

"I'm sure we can figure something out." she whispered, still smilling.

xxxxxxxxxx

_Bran slid down the hill smoothly at first, but before he could enjoy the feeling of accomplishment, one ski went in it's own direction and he slipped in an awkward U-turn and fell on the snow. _

_He tightened his jaw with frustration and tried to sit up, but his skis were twisted in a way that he couldn't really move. _

_With one pole he stabbed at the heel DIN until he heard a snap and his boot came free. _

_He took the second ski off and stood, fixing the skis on the snow so he could step into them and try again. _

_There was no sport he didn't eventually become good at, with some work of course, and he told himself skiing wouln't be the exception. Especially since he had decided he liked it. A lot._

_It was almost impossible to get the hang of it with Arya and Robb laughing in the background, so he had gone a bit higher than the rest and was practicing on a small hill inside the trees._

_He stabbed both poles into the snow and pushed himself forward._

_This time he went further than he ever had. Going past the hill, into another patch of trees. _

_He had a smile on his face, wishing someone had seen that._

_The excitement proved to be too much though, for he soon lost balance and he had to let go of his poles to grab ahold of a tree to keep him from coming too close to the edge, which sloped down steeply. A good 15 meters._

_He let out a small nervous laugh._

_He definitely loved skiing, he thought as he closed his eyes and felt the euphoria slowly drain out of him. _

_He was ready to try again, when he heard low, gasping sounds a few feet right behind him._

_Taking a few steps forwards he came in full view of a couple leaning against a tree._

_They were kissing, so at first he couldn't tell who they were, but when the man moved to bury his face into the woman's neck, and he saw exactly who they were._

_And she saw him staring at them._

_"Jaime! Stop!" she cried pushing her twin brother away._

_Bran's stomach flipped with shock, and he turned away, making his way towards his poles so he could leave. _

_The skis slowed him though, and Jaime Lannister caught up to him._

_"He saw us!" Cersei yelled behind them as Jaime grabbed Bran by the shoulder roughly. "He saw us!"_

_"I know!" Jaime said turning to Bran._

_"You two are sick!" Bran spat out, his voice echoing in the snow._

_Jaime shook him at that. "Shut the fuck up, you nosy brat!"_

_Bran wasn't scared though._

_Just upset he had to see that. "Let go of me. I won't tell anyone." Bran told Jaime sincerely._

_Jaime looked him in the eyes for a few moments, considering._

_He finally turned to his twin who had stepped right next to them . _

_They shared a look before Jaime brought his eyes back to meet Bran's. _

_He smiled at the boy, and raised his eyebrows. "I'm sorry." he told Bran and dragged him to the edge. _

_"No!" was all Bran was able to yell before he was flying._

_No. Not flying._

_Falling. _

Bran opened his eyes.

He was in total darkness and there was an odd smell.

The smell of smoke, and cold, and woods.

He was at his grandfather's.

It had taken them a day to go from London to Paris, and from Paris to Barcelona.

They rented a car and drove the rest of the way to Figueres, which was about a 15 minute drive from his grandfather's vineyard.

Upon their arrival, Alicia, his grandfather's nurse had their rooms fixed and Cat was quick to tuck Bran into the large bed of his room before leaving him.

Bran cried most of that night. Sometimes it was just tears.

Endless tears that wouldn't stop.

Other times, it was as if he would explode. His entire body tensed and he gasped for air as he tighened the grip on his pillow.

All he saw, was his father as he had dreamt him. Mauled by a lion.

And then more tears came, and then more, and then sleep.

When he had woken the afternoon of the next day, his mother was gone.

Bran propped himself up on his elbows crawling to one side of the bed to reach the lamp he had noticed on the night table.

His fingers found it, and he felt his way up its neck until he felt the switch.

The room was lit with a dim light and he noticed he wasn't alone.

Robb was sitting next to the bed. His head hung to one side, and his swollen eyes were closed.

"Robb." Bran called to him firmly.

Robb's eyes blinked open slowly and he rubbed his eyes with one hand, groaning as he sat up straight. "You ok?" he asked Bran sleepily.

Bran nodded. "What are you doing here?" Bran asked as he too, sat himself up on the bed.

The question seemed to have waken Robb up completely. His eyes became instantly alert and he took in a deep breath, exhaling slowly.

His eyes met Bran's and for a moment, Bran saw pity in them.

"I was waiting for you to wake up." Robb told him, leaning closer to the bed. "I'm.. I'm leaving."

Bran sat still, staring at his older brother. He said nothing. He had nothing to say.

Stay. Don't leave me. Take me with you.

None of those seemed to make sense.

He looked away from Robb and realized that this is what his life was now.

"I'll be back as soon as I can. I promise. I just need to be with mother. She needs me. Our sisters and Rickon need us. You'll be safe here." Robb reached out to grab Bran's hand. " But i promise you. I'll be back."

Bran eyes snapped up to look into Robb's. He looked furious.

"Don't say that. Don't lie. You don't know what can happen. If you'll be back. If mother will. Anything can happen. So don't you lie to me just because I'm a cripple!"

A tear rolled from Robb's eye. "You're no cripple."

"Yes I am. Stop feeling sorry for me. Stop lying to me. Don't promise me you'll be back if you can't keep that promise. Because I don't want to sit here, waiting for you to come back. Waiting and waiting only to find out you won't. Father said to me 'I'll see you soon' and that was a lie. Mother didn't even bother saying good bye. Jon promised he would visit and he never did and now he never will.

"I'd rather die Robb, I'd rather die than sit here and wait." Bran sobbed out.

Robb stood and crossed to the bed quickly, taking his brother in his arms and weeping bitterly.

"I promise Bran." he spoke into his brother's hair. "I will try everything in my power to bring us all together again. Mother. The girls, you Rickon and I."

He tightened his embrace and held Bran as close to him as he could.

"I promise Bran. I promise."

xxxxxxxxxx

Jaime was parked across the street from the police station. Waiting.

He had been sitting there for hours, feeling his patience grow thin with every minute that passed.

His plan, or rather half plan, depended on so much that was out of his control that he was beginning to think that perhaps this was all a waste of time.

It made him want to drive away and come up with a better plan, but he decided to stay until he could think of one.

He rolled the car window down, letting the warmth escape. The air outside was crisp and there was tiny snow flurries floating everywhere.

It was beautiful.

That's when he saw her.

She walked out of the station, dressed in a police uniform, and at first he wasn't sure if she was a she at all, but her features were what gave her away.

He sat up straight and looked all around, making sure no one else was around.

Thanks to the cold, no one was, so he felt safe enough to call out to her.

She turned, at first unsure if it was her he wanted, but then he beckoned her over to him and she began walking towards him.

She had short blonde hair and a set expression.

As she came closer he decided she wasn't half bad, and most definitely not a man,

When she came all the way up to his car window he noticed two things.

She was freakishly tall.

And she had the most stunning blue eyes he had ever seen.

For some reason, he let out a snort. "You're a fucking monster!" he laughed out, much more crudely than he intended.

She rolled her eyes and started walking away.

"No!" Jaime chuckled out. "Come back!"

But she began walking away faster, and Jaime was crying from the laughter, unable to figure out what was so hysterical.

When he finally composed himself, she was nowhere in sight.

He should be mad. All this time waiting, and he blew it over a laugh.

_A good laugh, mind you._

Thankfully, someone else followed her out shortly, and he called the guy over quickly.

"Yea?" the guy asked. He was around Joffrey's age. Maybe older.

From the expression on his face, Jaime knew the boy recognized him.

"You know who I am?"

The boy nodded.

"Good. Then I'll cut to the chase. I need some information, and I am willing to pay... for your services." Jaime gave the bag sitting on the back seat a quick glance.

The boy's eyes followed Jaime's gaze and he smiled a crooked smile as soon as he saw the bag.

That was all the confirmation Jaime needed. This kid was a leech.

_Perfect._

"Get in." Jaime said as he unlocked the door.

xxxxxxxxxx

Arya woke to a throbbing head ache.

She was inside what felt like the back of a moving truck.

It took a while for her eyes to adjust to the darkness, and she made out the outline of a door at the end of the camper.

Her hands and legs were tied and she struggled with the knotted cloth they used to tie her, but she couldn't loosen it.

To her left she saw what looked like Gendry's body. He was still unconscious.

She wormed her way towards him until she came right next to him.

With her tied hands she began shaking him roughly.

He woke with a groan and an "Arya."

"Shhhh." she told him as she pressed her finger tips to his mouth. "Quiet."

Despite the darkness, she saw his eyes grew alert.

"Where are we?" he whispered against her fingers, making her shiver.

"Inside a truck i think. We're moving."

Arya watched as Gendry fought with his binds before giving up with a curse. He then began wiggling around until he was able to sit up. She followed his lead, sitting up awkwardly.

He suddendly turned to face her. "What we're you doing? Trying to buy a gun? We could've been at your grandfather's already if you'd just..."

"Are you blaming me for this!" she whispered sharply as she slammed her tied hands against his shoulder.

"I've told you before Arya," he whispered back, ignoring her question. "Think stuff through a bit more before you do something stupid."

Arya looked away furious, but it was pointless.

She knew this was her fault.

"Look, we need to find away to escape." she whispered, still not looking at Gendry.

"How?" he whispered back, raising his hands for her to see. "We're tied, we're in the back of this truck. They know you! How do they even know you?"

"I'm not sure." she turned to him. "Perhaps the news. I don't really care how they know me or why they want me, we need to make a run for it as soon as we can."

Gendry began turning his body so that he was fully facing her, and he took her tied hand in his giving them a squeeze.

"It's only two of us, and we've got no guns, we're tied, and tired..." he sighed but in the darkness of the camper Arya was still able to see his smile.

"But I'll pretty much follow anywhere, Arya."

The truck had come to a stop now, making her stomach jump. Or was it his words that made her stomach do that.

She pulled her hands from his grasp and took his in hers, giving them a squeeze and looking up at his blue eyes, smilling.

"Good," she whispered with fear. "Cause we're here."

xxxxxxxxxx

Jaime had found a small pub in one of the loneliest streets in Sheffield for them to talk.

Only the old man behind the bar was inside, but he didn't seem to be all there, so this place was perfect.

Jaime had sat for almost an hour listening to Theon Greyjoy talk about Gendry.

Everything he knew, he spat out to Jaime, and Jaime thought he couldn't have found a better man.

"So," Jaime took a sip from his drink. "You're saying that he was arrested in a pub fight, then, in half the time as anyone else on record ever had, became a Constable."

Theon nodded. "There was always something fishy going on with Ned, Yoren and Gendry."

"So you believe the rumors?"

"Oh yea."

"Ned Stark plotting with Yoren and Gendry. Really? Sounds like a bit of a stretch if you ask me."

Theon shrugged, finishing his drink. "There was the whole deal with that Stark girl too. Kid's out of control, but we always just looked the other way, I mean, she's the boss' daughter, then Gendry comes into the picture, and all of'a sudden, he's arresting her, over and over and over again."

"Not Sansa." Jaime asked, having no doubt that it was Arya Theon was reffering to.

Arya was a little firecracker. There was no doubt she'd be one to break the law. Right under her father's nose too.

Jaime smiled.

"Na, Arya Stark, the little horse faced one."

Something inside Jaime clicked.

"Gendry and Arya . . . they didn't get along then?"

"I wouldn't say that. A few times I saw these looks between them." Theon said.

_She's with him._

"Gendry. Did he have any friends?"

Theon shrugged. "Not that I knew of."

"Anyone he was close to at the station, apart from Yoren?"

"Brienne. Now that I think about it they were pretty close. Brienne Tarth's the name. Large woman. Lesbian." Theon said the last with a sour tone in his voice.

"Blonde, short hair. Monstrously tall?" Jaime asked. This was all too easy.

"Yes, that's the one."

Jaime smiled. "How close. Close enough for her to know his whereabouts?"

"I wouldn't doubt it. I know she told the investigators she hadn't heard of or spoken to Gendry since Thursday of last week, that same day I told you Gendry stood up to Robert. But I wouldn't be surprised if she was lying."

Jaime nodded and stood, pulling his wallet out. Theon slid off his stool with greedy eyes, but Jaime only paid the old bartender, and looked at Theon with the smile.

"I have your bag in the car," he said with a smile and put his hand around Theon's shoulder, leading him to the exit.

The street outside was just as empty as it had been when they arrived, and Jaime turned into the small alley where he had parked his car.

"I may come to you later, if I need anything else." Jaime told Theon as he opened the back door or his car.

"Is that a problem?" he asked Theon as he reached into the back seat.

"As long as you continue to pay for my _services_." Theon said with a smile.

"Of course." Jaime said as he stood straight.

There was no bag in his hand thought, but a gun. Theon had no time to react before he was shot. Right in between the eyes.

Jaime tossed the gun on the back seat quickly and grabbed Theon off the floor and shoved him into a large trash bin.

He looked around, but there was no one in sight.

There was the slightest bit of blood on the floor, but it was beginning to snow again, so he doubted anyone would see it.

He grabbed his gun and closed the back door, walking back to the pub.

The old man still stood behind the bar, looking half asleep and bored.

"You didn't happen to see my friend, did you?" Jaime smiled at the man, hoping he was as senile as he looked.

"You walked out of here together, you twat!" the old man said grumpily.

_I guess he's brighter than he looks. Shame._

Jaime raised his gun and shot the old man on the chest.

He sighed.

"The things I do for love."

**AN**

**I apologize for the lateness as usual. My grandmother fell and between the hospital visits, plus studying for an IRS convention i'm attending next week, i've been crazy busy.**

**I'll be gone all of next week, but i will post one more chapter this week, maybe two. I hope two.**

**SO...**

**Yes, Sansa didn't leave, and we will find out exactly what happened when the Hound said "Get in"**

**Dont hate me.**

**Also, I am not lying when i tell you i cried as i wrote the Bran scenes. **

**I want to hug poor Bran.**

**Also, incase i hadnt mentioned it before, I know in the books Bran is older than Arya by a year, but Arya is 16, almost 17 in this story and Bran is still 10. **

**SO yea, i just like him young.**

**Also, lots of Jaime in this chapter, so let me know how you're liking him. **

**And we find out how Bran's accident happened. AHHH!**

**SO yea, thanks for all your reviews, and as always, keep them coming :)**

**They're like cupcakes! Seriously**

**Love you all for your reviews. **


	16. Chapter 16

**Note: So, I received a few reviews for chapter 14 telling me my Spanish was off. Thank you for that. I have two readers helping me with my Spain facts, and one of them was kind enough to give me the proper phrasing of the sentences in both Spanish and Catalan. Thank you so much "egaara"**

**You're a darling!**

**So anyone interested in re reading over chapter 14, feel free :)**

**Also, there is some Catalan and Spanish in this chapter. So you've been warned. Like last time, I will have the translation at the bottom. **

**A reviewer suggested I have the translation next to the sentence in parenthesis, but i kinda like the reader not knowing what is being said until the end, cause Gendry doesn't know either language, and he's as lost as you, the readers are!**

**Anyway, Ill let you read now! Enjoy!**

The back door opened and Gendry slid infront of Arya as the one they called Lem jumped on and walked towards them with a knife.

He bent down and sawed the cloth that tied Gendry's feet first, then moved to Arya's.

"Out." he said as he pulled Arya by her shirt until she was on her feet.

Gendry was the first to jump off the back of the truck.

He had no idea what time it was, but there was no longer any sun out, so it was either dawn or dusk.

He was almost sure it was the latter.

They seemed to be at some sort of farmhouse in the middle of nowhere.

Nothing but grassland for miles.

The other three men were by the truck waiting for him.

Lem jumped off and grabbed Arya by the waist and brought her down.

Gendry didn't know what came over him, but he was running towards Lem.

He slammed his entire weight against him, knocking him to the floor.

Arya's eyes widened in shock, and their eyes met for a split second before she turned to kick the red head straight in the gut.

Gendry put his tied hands around the neck of the guitarist, not even bothering with the old bearded man.

"Arya, run!" he growled at her as he pulled his hands back, so that the cloth choked the guitarist tightly, giving him little room to move or breath.

Arya hesitated for a split second before she began to run.

Out of nowhere a gun cocked by his ear and out of the corner of his eye Gendry saw the bearded man was holding a gun to his head.

"Run, and I blow his brains out!" he called out to Arya, and to Gendry's disappointment, she stopped.

"How nice of her" the guitarist said with a laugh.

Arya turned around slowly, facing them, but her eyes were on Gendry, and his on her.

_Run_, his eyes were saying. _Run!_

But she didn't.

Instead she started walking back towards them.

Lem and the red head were on their feet agains, and the guitarist had pulled Gendry's arms off him.

Arya reached them, her eyes locked with Gendry's.

Lem pushed him to his knees and pulled his own gun out, pointing it at his head.

Arya's eyes went from the gun pointed at Gendry, to Gendry, to the gun the bearded man had.

"Tsk tsk tsk, don't you dare." Lem said, cocking his gun.

Gendry clenched his jaw and pouted his lips.

_I'm going to die. _

_Right here. Right now, in front of Arya. _

She'd seen so much already.

Not this too. Not now. He can't leave this world without knowing she was safe.

He can't leave her with _them_.

"We won't try anything else." Gendry said pleadingly. He gave Arya a quick look, before he turned to the bearded man, whom he assumed, was the leader. "You have my word."

"Your word?" the red head laughed to their side.

"Lem, Anguy!" the bearded man yelled out, and at that, Lem pulled his gun away from Gendry's head.

"I will take your word, and you have out word, no harm will come to either of you. We, ourselves, are men of our word, isn't that right?" the bearded man asked and all the men nodded.

He smiled at that.

"Now, I don't know about you, but I'm freezing my bollocks off, so if we could please step inside." he turned towards the house, leaving everyone to follow.

The guitarist grabbed Arya by the shoulder and led her towards the old, homely farmhouse.

Lem and Anguy grabbed Gendry from either arm and pulled him to his feet, walking him towards the house.

Whomever said never judge a book by it's cover was most definitely talking about this house.

On the outside, it looked like an old decaying house...

The inside, however, was beautiful.

The entire first floor was all one room.

The walls were painted a cream yellow and were full of indentations were marble statues rested.

There was plants and tapestries, and a large chandelier. A large staircase lead to the second floor.

There was a large fireplace on one end of the room. On the opposite side, the wall was one large book shelf, with three rounded windows placed between the shelves. In fact, every door way and window in the house had a rounded top.

_Who the hell are these people?_

Anguy was the first to make himself at home. He began to strip off his jacket as he ran up the stairs.

"Welcome, to my humble home." the guitarist said in singsong as he gave a small bow.

"We haven't been properly intoduce. I'm Tomas. Tom, if you will...Joe, and Arry was it?" he told them in a mocking tone, and as if on cue, Lem tossed him Yoren's bag. The same bag that had led them straight into their pawn shop.

"Well we know you're Arya. Arya Stark. Harwin's told us all about you." he said to her as he began pulling out their passports from the bag. "He was clever enough to recognize you." Tom said as he gave a nod to Harwin, who had sat himself on a Chesterfield sofa near the fire place.

"But who are you really, Joe?" he asked, pointing at Gendry.

Gendry didn't answer.

Tom pulled out their money next, inspecting the thick packs. "This is a lot of money. Where did you steal it?"

"We didn't steal it. It's ours!" Arya snapped, speaking for the first time since they had arrived. Tom smiled at her.

"Well, it just so happens that we do steal." he told her as he held out the money for Lem.

Lem crossed to him and took it with a smile.

"That's ours!" Arya yelled, taking a step forward.

"Now, now, can't you share?" Lem shoved her back, and walked towards Harwin, handing him the money.

"What do you need so much money for? Where are you going?" Tom asked as he gave their passports a second glance before tucking them back inside the bag. "And you haven't told us your name, like an honest man would. You know all our names." he told Gendry.

"The Bull. They call me the Bull." Gendry offered warily.

Tom roared with laughter.

"That sounds like a load of _Bull_ shit if you ask me." Anguy called from the second floor. His red hair was wet and he had on a fresh change of clothes. "Shower's free." he turned to Lem and Harwin.

"Arya and the Bull." Tom said in singsong. "I like it." he smiled. "Wait, wait, I feel a song coming! Someone fetch me the guitar from the truck!"

Lem grunted behind Tom, and no one seemed to make a move to get the guitar.

Gendry wasn't sure if these men were serious, or if they were putting on an act.

His cop instincts kicked in and he quickly swept the place with his eyes. His best guess was, they were crooked art dealers. Their pawn shop seemed to fit with his theory.

"What I want to know is where they're headed to?" Harwin called over from the couch.

Gendry opened his mouth, about to speak, but Arya spoke first.

"Away." she shrugged. "Away from home. What's it to you?"

"You already are away from home, how do you know this isn't exactly where you were suppose to end up?" Anguy said as he reached the bottom of the stair case and sat on the second stair.

Arya was about to answer Anguy, when Harwin rose from the couch and walked towards her.

"I knew your father. I used to work for him." he said, and everyone turned to face him.

Arya was a few steps in front of Gendry, so he couldn't see her reaction, but Gendry himself wasn't expecting that. Out of all the places Arya could've walked into, she just happened to walk into the shop where this man who knew her father happened to be.

"I used to work for him. That was years ago thought, but I knew the kind of man he was. The filth being spread around about him..."

"It's all lies!" Arya told him, and he nodded.

"I know," he said with a sad smile. "but that doesn't change the fact that everyone believes it."

Arya frowned. "If you knew my father, then let me go."she raised her tied hands. "Why are we tied up? Why have you taken from us? We're just trying to find my mother, why don't you let us go?"

"We're trying to help. We'll make sure you reach your mother soon." he said in a soothing tone that Gendry wasn't buying. Even Tom, Anguy and Lem seemed puzzled by Harwin's words.

"I don't believe you. Why would you help me? How do I know everything you're saying about my father is true." Arya said, echoing Gendry's thoughts.

Harwin just smiled. "You don't. But you have no choice." he said, waving the packs of money at them. "This is a loan by the way. We'll pay you back."

"A loan!" Gendry laughed out. "It doesn't seem to me like you're the kind to require a loan." he said as he looked around the room.

Harwin smiled about to speak, when Tom stepped next to him.

"What's the deal Harwin?" he whispered, pulling the man aside.

Harwin furrowed his eyebrows at Tom. "Huh?"

Tom glanced over at Arya and Gendry, as if considering something, before turning Harwin.

"Que vols que fem amb ells?" he whispered in Catalan.

Anguy rose from the stairs, crossing over to the men, stealing a quick glance towards Arya.

"Crec que el millor que podriem fer es portar-los a ell. Ell sabra que fer." Harwin whispered back.

"Y el chico?" Anguy asked, glancing over to Gendry.

"El noi tambe." Harwin answered him.

"Que collons voldra d'ells?" Tom cried out, clearly pissed.

"Tinc un pla." Harwin told them and walked back towards Arya and Gendry.

"It's late. Lem will take you to your room. We leave first thing tomorrow. Get some rest." He said cheerfully, turning to everyone.

Tom didn't return Harwin's smile. He simply shared a look with Lem.

"Leaving where?" Gendry and Arya both asked at the same time.

"You ask to many questions?" Lem said as he pushed them towards the stair.

"All in good time, child. All in good time." Harwin called to Arya as they started up the stairs.

xxxxxxxxxx

The room Lem lead them to was painted the same creamy yellow as the rest of the house.

There was a large king sized bed and a small, yet elegant dresser in the corner, and a large mirror on a stand on the other.

Arya's eyes went straight to the window.

"Window is barred." Lem told them with a smile as he cut the cloth tying Arya's hands.

She glanced at his gun, which was tucked into his pants, but Gendry gave her a stern look.

She rolled her eyes, but didn't try anything.

"Bathroom is in there" he pointed towards the doorway that was across from the bed and then turned to cut Gendry's hands loose. "I _will_ lock the door. Knock if you need anything." he said before he left, closing the door behind him.

Arya heard a key slipping into the keyhole and the click of the lock.

"Damn!" she said under her breath as she rubbed the raw flesh on her wrists.

"Why didn't you leave?"

Arya turned to face Gendry in disbelief. He was facing away from her, towards the door.

"They had a gun to your head." she said. _Is he really asking me this?_

"You're what matters here. You can't be stupid. You should have kept on running."

"Running where Gendry? There's nothing. Were in the middle of nowhere. They have a car, they had a gun pointed at you. You said it yourself, you would follow me anywhere." she said making him face her. "Well me too."

Gendry looked away from her. He seemed upset. She wasn't sure why thought. Back in the truck, he seemed to be in a hopeful mood. _He couldn't still be upset over her getting them captured, could he?He could be so stubborn! He wasn't far off when he picked The Bull. He was so bull headed._

She rolled her eyes and walked towards the window, pulling the drapes back.

"We have to find a way to get out of here." she said.

Lem wasn't lying. The window was barred.

"Arya, I think we should just..." Gendry said sitting on the bed and pulling off his jacket with a deep sigh. "I mean, they said they wanted to help." he said meeting her eyes.

"And you believe them?" Arya said as she walked back to him.

"Not a word they said. But there is really nothing we can do about it right this second is there?"

"You're giving up!" she stabbed her finger against his shoulder accusingly.

"No!" he groaned, clearly frustrated. He caught her hand in the air before she could stab her finger into his shoulder again. "I'm just not going to be stupid. They have guns, They outnumber us, we're in the middle of nowhere like you said. Tired. Hungry... Do I need to say more?" he demanded, letting go of her hand and pulling off his shirt.

Arya looked down at the floor.

_He was right._

_He was right, but she hated that she had to just sit here and do nothing. _

She had no choice though.

"I call the shower." Gendry rose from the bed and began unzipping his jeans as he walked towards the bathroom.

"I'm.." he began to say hesitantly.

Arya turned to him. He was dressed in only his briefs, and Arya could feel her face heat as she tried to keep her eyes on his face.

_Look at his eyes._

_Look at his eyes!_

"I'm leaving the door open, incase you need anything, just call me. I... don't trust them." he stuttered out awkwardly.

Arya made a face. "And what, you'll run out. Naked. Wet and naked, to fight them off . Ha." she sat on the bed and began unlacing her boot. "I can handle myself Gendry." she said as she pulled the boot off her foot.

"Ha. You only wish I would run out naked and wet." he said with a laugh.

Arya's head snapped up, mouth wide in shock.

He gave her a quick smile before he ran into the bathroom, just in time to miss the boot Arya had thrown his way.

xxxxxxxxxx

The hot water slowly dissolved all the knots in his back, little by little, until there were none left.

He closed his eyes, and just stood there, under the hot, numbing water. Letting it wash away the day.

The stress. The worry.

He wasn't on the run anymore. The water washed that away.

He wasn't the bastard son of Robert Baratheon anymore. The water washed that away.

Ned Stark wasn't dead . . . Arya and him weren't captives of some crooked bandits.

The water washed all of that away too.

Everything.

He opened his eyes though, and everything came back, and no amount of hot water was able to wash it away.

The bathroom door was open, and so he was able to hear the talking coming from the room.

"Arya?" he called as he slid the shower door open and peeked his head out.

He heard a door slam. He opened the door the whole way now. "Arya?" he said about to jump out.

"I'm fine. Don't come out. They just brought food."

"Oh." he said as he slid the door close.

"Hurry up, or it'll be all gone." she teased from the other room. "I'm small, but with a very hearty appetite."

"Arya Stark!" he called out as he quickly rubbed soap across his chest, "You better leave some food for me!" he moved to soap his arms.

"Hurry then."

Gendry smiled, shaking his head.

She was really beginning to get under his skin.

Whether she annoyed him, or surprised him.

Whenever she managed to anger him, make him smile, or challenge him, it always seemed to be heightened.

Everything seemed heightened with her.

She didn't simply upset him. She infuriated him.

She didn't just make him smile. His bloody cheeks hurt from smiling.

And at first, he told himself it was because she intrigued him.

She was stronger than she appeared. Smarter than him. Clever. Too clever for her own good.

He remembered Yoren's words, the day he had met Arya.

_"She's brilliant."_

It didn't take long for Gendry to realize Yoren was right.

She _was_ brilliant. She was bad ass!

She fucking scared the shit out of him!

He turned the shower off and slid the shower door open.

Thinking about Yoren had knotted his stomach, and all he wanted to do now was sleep. Even if he was starving. Sleep just seemed to make him forget.

He pulled a towel from the rack and wrapped it around his waist. walking out the doorway into the bedroom.

Arya had fallen asleep slumped at the foot of the bed.

There was two plates of untouched food, two empty glasses, and a pitcher with water on the dresser.

Whomever had brought their food had also brought up their pajamas and Gendry grabbed his from the bed and turned his back to Arya as he stepped into the pajama bottoms, letting the towel drop.

He pulled his white shirt over his head, slipping his hands into the sleeves.

It smelled.

It was the same shirt he had worn the night Arya had showed up.

That day felt like it had happened ages ago.

He walked around the bed to where her head rested on her hands and knelt.

The skin on her wrist was red and blistered from the binds.

With her asleep, and peaceful. Even asleep though, she looked like the little fighter that she was. The little tough wolf.

He hadn't had the chance before to actually look at her face. Not like this.

She had a button nose, and small lips.

It was her eyes that really caught the eye though.

She was beautiful. That wasn't hard to see. Even with no make up, and unevenly chopped hair, she was beautiful.

Gendry let out a frustrated breath and her eyes opened, looking straight into his.

"Yoren did a piss poor job with your hair." he smiled and stood, walking back to the other side of the bed.

"You should shower. It'll help. I'll sleep on the floor." he pulled a pillow from under the covers and let it fall on the floor.

"You can sleep up here." she said sleepily as she rolled off the bed. "I don't mind. The floor is too hard."

And with that, she took her pajamas and walked into the shower, closing the door behind her.

"I do, though." he said to the closed door.

But he took the pillow from the floor and threw it on the bed.

xxxxxxxxxx

**Translation:**

**(S) is for Spanish, (C) is for Catalan **

**Tom: (C)Que vols que fem amb ells? = What exactly are you planning to do with them?**

**Harwin: (C) Crec que el millor que podriem fer es porta-los a ell. Ell sabra que fer. = The best thing to do is take them to him. He'll know what to do.**

**Anguy: (S)Y el chico = What about the boy?**

**Harwin: (C) El noi tambe = the boy too.**

**Tom: (C) Que collons voldra d'ells? = what the fuck would he want with them?**

**Harwin: (C) Tinc un pla = I have a plan**

**AN**

**My chapters keep on getting shorter and shorter, but I have some pretty lengthy chapters coming up. Promise.**

**This chapter is all Arya and Gendry, and it jumps from one POV to the other.**

**This is also a sorta sweet, calm chapter, since there is a few more intense stuff coming soon. **

**That's all I have to say really. I'm loving your reviews! You're all great. I leave for Las Vegas on Monday and return until Friday. **

**It's a business trip, so I doubt I'll have time for anything else. However, I may have time to squeeze out another chapter before I leave. Depends on how free my Friday night is.**

**I'm really excited about next chapter though. So I might not post it unless I'm 100% happy with it. **

**Again, thanks for your reviews! I love you all!**


	17. Chapter 17

Gendry slipped under the covers with a sigh. The bed not only looked comfortable, but it smelled clean and the sheets and covers felt fresh. He could already feel the beginnings of sleep settle over him as his torso cramped up a bit before slowly relaxing.

He could hear the shower running, and music and singing from down stairs. _Tom, no doubt._

Gendry still didn't know what to make of the men that held him and Arya captive. From what he'd gathered, they were not _evil_ men, but they were not clean either.

No one who works in a scrawny pawn shop in a dodgy neighborhood could afford to fix up a house as this one was. Then again he didn't know much about the pawning business.

He knew about trusting your gut, and his gut told him there was something fishy going on with these men.

His eye lids were growing heavier the more his head filled with thoughts. He'd spent most of the day running that he had not allowed himself to think. His thoughts were catching up with him now, and instead of robbing him of sleep as his thoughts always did, they lulled him.

But he wanted to wait for Arya to come out of the shower. _She knows Spanish. Perhaps she understood what the men had been whispering about._ He let his eyes close, exhaling softly. He was a bit nervous about sleeping in the same bed as her.

It would be the first time he ever had to share a bed with a girl.

When he used to live at the home, after his mother had passed, he would sometimes have to share a bed. But that happened less and less as the years went by.

That had been so long ago though, and he had long ago grown used to having a bed all to himself. It wasn't too late to set up some covers on the floor.

But the bed was just too comfortable, and Arya said she didn't mind... He would just stick to his side of the bed. The bed was large enough to fit three, maybe even four people, and Arya was small.

_I think I kick though. I'm almost certain I kick._

He turned on his side so he was giving his back to her side of the bed. _This way, I won't kick her._ He blinked a few times, trying to shake the sleep off.

The shower was still running, and the hiss of the water was soothing, as was the music coming from downstairs.

_Just rest your eyes. Just for a few minutes_, he told himself as he slipped his arm under the pillow, enjoying the familiarity the coolness between the pillow and the bed brought in this otherwise unfamiliar place and situation.

As soon as he closed his eyes, he was gone.

The drapes on the window were too thick to allow any light in, so Gendry wasn't sure if it was morning when he woke up the first time.

He was about to move to stretch when he felt it.

Warmth pressed against his back, and even warmer breaths fanning his back. It was Arya, snuggled closely against his back.

He froze.

The bed was huge! She was a little spit of a person. And yet, she took up most of the bed, leaving Gendry so far on the edge, that with any small move, he would fall off the bed.

He twisted his neck carefully, looking over his shoulder.

It took a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the dark, and when they did, all he could see was her shoulder.

Gendry sighed and pulled the covers off himself, careful not to stir her bit of the covers, and slipped a leg out. It instantly filled with gooseprickles.

The room was freezing.

He slipped out from under the covers quickly, before he had time to reconsider, and ran to the toilet.

After he took a piss, he walked back into the room crossing to the window. He cracked the drapes a small fraction to look outside. It was snowing. A good layer of snow covered the fields that stretched on for miles. They really were in the middle of nowhere.

The sky was thick with clouds so he couldn't tell if the sun was out yet, but there was a soft light.

Gendry opened the drapes the whole way, turning to see if the light woke Arya.

It didn't.

He yawned and dragged himself back to bed, taking the side Arya was suppose to be on. It was cold. As cold as an unused side of a bed should be.

He gave Arya his back once more, and laid his head on the pillow. It din't take long before he was asleep again.

The second time he woke up, it was to heavy banging on their door, followed by singing.

_"Wake up in the morning!_

_I don't feel blue!_

_Cause I know . . . _

_I've got you!"_

Gendry sat up quickly. Tom and Anguy were in the room and it was Tom who was singing. Anguy had the most idiotic smile on his face.

Gendry turned to Arya who was unsteadily sitting up, squinting her eyes against the light.

"We leave after breakfast." Tom told them as he draped a heavy jacket over the bed. "This is for you. The snow is falling heavy and fast." he told Arya.

Anguy crossed to the dresser and took the tray with last night's uneaten food.

"Guessin' you weren't hungry?" he crossed out the room.

"You'll want to eat breakfast." Tom told them as he started towards the door. "We have a long drive and a long night ahead of us." and with that he left too, closing the door behind them.

Gendry and Arya exchanged a look before he rolled out of bed. He stretched as he yawned feeling the pull of muscles and hearing a pop on his neck. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed Arya yawning aswell. For some reason, it made him chuckle and she noticed.

"What's so funny?" she asked as she rubbed her arms for warmth.

"Were you cold last night?"

"Huh?" she made a face.

"It's just that, well . . . you were cuddling last night."

That fully woke her up. Gendry smiled cockily, turning to walk lazily into the bathroom. From the room he could hear Arya fussing with the covers and stomp her way to him. He leaned over the sink, splashing running water on his face.

"I don't cuddle!" she snapped urgently.

Gendry turned to face her, water dripping from his face. He raised one eyebrow and turned the water off.

"Well, you did last night." he tugged a towel off the rack and pressed it to his face a few times.

"It was probably just your stupid weight on the bed. It made me roll over to you or something." she said.

Gendry tilted his head to one side, taking in the sight of her. Her hair was sticking in every direction. Her eyes were swollen and tired. Her brows creased in that expression he'd grown too used to. He smiled. "Perhaps that was it." he said and he tossed the towel on her face.

xxxxxxxxxx

Sansa opened her eyes and a tear rolled down, all the way to her ear.

She turned on her side, so that her back was to Joffrey.

Her skin burned everywhere he had touched it, even after she had stood under the hot running water in the shower for over an hour.

More tears well up on her eyes at the memory.

A part of her didn't know why she had given in to him. Why she had allowed him to take her. And then take her again, and again.

After the third time, he had fallen asleep, like a baby and Sansa grabbed her pillow wanting with all her might to just kill him right then and there.

Instead, though, she'd rolled out of bed, sore an disgusted, and dragged herself to the bathroom, where she turned the water to the hottest point, and tried, with little success, to wash away the memory of his touch.

_Why didn't you leave with the Hound, you fool!_

"You know why." she answered herself, forgetting Joffrey was in the same room as her.

Behind her, he stirred and rolled closer to her, so that his chin rested on her neck.

Sansa quickly wiped her tears away with her thumb.

"Good morning!" Joffrey whispered with a sour breath that made Sansa nearly gag.

"Morning." she whispered sweetly.

She didn't fool herself. Not one bit.

Every time she spoke, she could hear how artificial her words sounded, and feared everyone else could hear it too.

Joffrey began kissing the back of her neck. "Last night was great, wasn't it?"

"Mmm hmm." she agreed and she quickly crawled out from under his embrace, sitting up on her side of the bed.

"Where are you going?" his hand slid up her back and under her arm to cup her bare breast.

Sansa clenched her jaw, taking in a deep breath to calm herself down.

"I'm starving." she said as she stood and turned to face him with a smile, holding out her hand to him. "Breakfast?"

xxxxxxxxxx

They left right after breakfast, just as Tom had promised.

During breakfast, Arya had demanded to know where they we're going, but no one answered her.

Gendry asked for their stuff back, but all they returned was the bag with their toiletries, their gloves, scarves and hats, keeping both their money, and their documents.

Lem was once again going to make them ride in the camper, but Harwin spoke on their behalf and they rode on the back cabin with Anguy, giving Gendry and Arya no privacy to talk.

Anguy chattered on most of the drive, quickly getting on Gendry's nerves.

They stopped at a rest stop to use the toilet, and Gendry made sure he sat himself between Anguy and Arya, hoping that would give Anguy a hint, but if he took it, he didn't seem to care, for as soon as they were on the road again, Anguy leaned foward on his seat and continued to tell Arya tales, almost as if Gendry were not sat between them.

Eventually Lem shut him up with a wack on the head, cursing him in Spanish.

_Thank you!_ Gendry thought.

It took them almost 7 hours before they finally made it to the snowy city.

"Welcome to Madrid!" Tom said as he glanced back at them through the rearview mirror with a smile.

Arya and Gendry both slid to one side to look out the window.

The city was truly beautiful.

Arya turned to Gendry when they drove by a park that had a large Christmas tree. "It's almost Christmas." she told him tonelessly.

He tried to meet her eyes, but she quickly turned back out the window, so Gendry couldn't read her.

Tom stopped the truck infront of a large white building called Splendom Suites and turned to face Arya and Gendry.

"Don't try anything stupid. Everyone here know us already. We're all friends here, so it would be pointless to make a scene."

"Friends?" Arya asked.

Tom simply smiled and unlocked their doors.

Harwin and Lem got off first, then they opened the back door for them and they each slid off, one by one.

Anguy, being the last, closed both doors and Tom drove off.

"Where's he going?" Gendry asked warily.

"To park the truck." Lem answered and they all walked into the building.

Everyone inside greeted the men, and smiled courteously at both Arya and Gendry.

The walked straight to the lifts, not stopping at the front desk.

Their suite, which was on the 6th floor, reminded Gendry more of a posh flat than a hotel room.

Lem led them to a bedroom. "You two will stay here." he told them, and Arya walked to the bed, sitting on the edge.

Gendry closed the door behind them and set their bag in the closet.

"What are we doing here?" he whispered, more to himself than Arya, which made Arya rise from the bed and storm out of the room.

"Now can you tell us why we're here!" she demanded.

Gendry walked out after her.

Tom was already in the room, sitting on a sofa with Anguy. From the sounds of it, Lem was in the toilet, and Harwin was in one of the other bedrooms, talking on the phone.

"You'll find out tonight." Anguy told her.

"I don't want to find out tonight, I want to know now."

"We're here so you can meet someone. Someone who will help you."

"Who?" Arya asked. "Just tell me. I'm tired of all the ambiguity."

She sounded so exhausted. It made Gendry want to punch Tom.

"Look, you said you're trying to help, and you've dragged us all the way over here, the least we deserve is a forwards answer!" Gendry said, stepping next to Arya.

"Like I said, he's a man that can help. He's like our leader, if that helps."

"Leader?" Gendry said.

Tom just nodded. "And don't ask how he can help, because I don't know myself. This was all Harwin's idea. It's best to wait for _him _to explain it all to you when you meet him tonight."

There was a knock on the door. "Perfect timing!" Tom cried as he shoved Anguy, who in turn rose to get the door.

_"Buenas tardes. Sus trajes de la tintoreria, y el vestido que Tom le pidio a Gabriela_."

"Gracias Santi." Anguy said to the young man, taking some garment bags from him.

"I think you're closer to me in size." he told Gendry, "So you can try on one of my suits."

At that, Anguy handed Gendry one of the bags, which he took by the hanger.

"What is this for?" Gendry asked moodily.

No one answered him.

Lem walked out of the toilet, air drying his hands.

"I suggests you all use the other toilets if you need to." he said.

Arya made a face.

"Give Arya the small bag." Tom told Anguy. "Yes, that one."

"What is this?" Arya asked as she took the bag from Anguy. The bag looked heavy, and Gendry realized there was a pair of heels inside.

"Your dress for tonight." Tom said.

"Stop asking so many questions!" Lem said in his deep voice.

"Get some rest. It'll be a long night. I need you two to be ready 15 to 2300." he told them and Gendry led Arya back into the room, closing and locking the door behind him.

Arya layed the garment bag on the bed and unzipped it, revealing a satiny green dress.

Arya turned to Gendry, looking petrified. "I don't know how their suppose to be helping us, when they seem to be taking me further away from where I need to be." Arya said, as she zipped the bag up again, and hung it on the closet next to where Gendry had hung his.

Gendry shook his head. "It'll be late tonight when we go to wherever it is we're going to. If the place is full of people, which I'm guessing, since we're dressing up, we can make a run for it."

"Yes." Arya said quickly, as if she had already been planning just that.

Gendry nodded and patted the empty spot on the bed next to where he was laying down.

"If we're running, again, we need to rest." he told her.

She crossed to the bed, laying belly side up.

For a long while neither of them spoke.

This morning, there was so many things Gendry wanted to say and ask, but right now the only thing on his mind was that they would try to escape. Again.

The thought of running made him anxious.

He was exhausted.

Not just physically. That usually ebbed after sleeping.

He was emotionally exhausted. He never thought he'd be this exhausted at 22.

"It'll be my birthday in a few days." Arya spoke softly, startling him.

Gendry turned his head to look at her, but she was staring up at the ceiling."When?"

"the 8th." she whispered.

Gendry looked away, thinking he had lost track of the days. He had no idea what day it was. He just knew it was December.

The incident had happened on a Sunday. November 30th. He remembered having the exam the next day. It was a re take too. The professor had gone out if her way and offered Gendry a second chance, telling him she'd make arrangements to meet him.

_Well, I've failed that class,_ Gendry thought.

"I think today is the 4th. I'm not sure." Arya said.

Gendry turned to face her once again. Her large eyes were still fixed on the ceiling.

He suddenly became very aware of how close she was.

His eyes glanced down at her hand, less than an inch away from his.

If he moved his pinky . . .the tiniest movement . . . they would touch.

He took in a deep, shuddery breath, bringing his eyes to her face once more, before exhaling loudly and sitting up, brushing his hands over his face.

He couldn't believe she was doing this to him.

They had only met some months ago. Sure, they had spent about a week together, but that surely wasn't enough to make someone feel this way.

He admitted he cared for her. Cared for her well being. They we're friends.

But there was other feelings too.

He was intrigued by her.

Perhaps at the fact that, if he ever tried anything affectionate towards her, like a hug or caress, she' punch him.

Perhaps at the fact that she fought with her emotions, yet they still managed to seep out.

She was stubborn. Violent. Impulsive . . .

Gendry looked over his shoulder, stealing a glance at her.

He looked away, and rolled his eyes at himself.

She was also brave, and strong. Clever. Beautiful.

He crawled off the bed, angered.

"I should shower." he said and stormed to the bathroom.

He felt like punching something. The wall. The mirror.

He couldn't though.

He couldn't even scream, cause she was right on the other side of the door.

"What are you doing to me Arya." he whispered as he turned the shower on, turning it to the coldest possible.

At first the water made him shudder every other second, but once he grew used to it, he decided he liked it.

It made him gasp in lungfuls of air, but it calmed him, and the cold was a nice contrast to his warm skin, and by the time he was done, he felt better.

Way better.

He wrapped a towel around his waist and grabbed the pile of clothes from the floor and walked out.

Arya was sitting, cross legged on the bed with what looked like hotel stationary.

She was writing a list.

Gendry crossed to the closet, where he'd set their bag and pulled out their pajamas.

"I was a washing machine in the kitchen. I'm going to wash everything." he told her.

She looked up from her list and nodded.

He raised an eyebrow. "So take that off." he pointed to what she was wearing.

She made a face. "And wear what?"

He rolled his eyes. "There's a bathrobe in the bathroom."

She rolled her eyes right back at him, but stood on the bed, quickly jumping off it, and running into the bathroom.

Gendry's eyes fell on the list.

He was too far to read it, and his toes twitched.

If he took a step closer, he might be able to read it.

But Arya hadn't bothered closing the bathroom door, and she was quick about undressing and slipping into the robe.

She walked out of the bathroom with her clothes in a tight little bundle.

Gendry took them, and walked out of the room.

Harwin was out in the balcony, smoking a pipe.

Lem and Anguy were on the sofa, watching the television, and Tom was in the kitchen, fixing three drinks.

He moved out of the way, so that Gendry could reach the washing machine, which was next to the stove.

"I don't think we have soap and all that stuff." he said as Gendry opened the small round door and stuffed the clothes inside.

"I'll call Gabriela."

"Gabriela! Gabriela!" Anguy gasped out mockingly, turning to Gendry. "They're lovers."

"She's half my age you booby!" Tom cried as he crossed to Lem and Anguy with their drinks.

"That's never stopped you before!" Lem laughed, taking the glass from Tom.

"It's not my fault the young one fall for my charms."

"You mean your sing-songy bullshit."Lem said before taking a sip.

"Just cause you don't have any bullshit to throw at them." Anguy elbowed the large man at his side, who in turn raised his hand to smack the back of the red head's head.

"What about you?" Tom crossed back to the kitchen counter and took the last drink. "Are you a little casanova?" he asked Gendry as he handed him the drink and walked to the phone.

Gendry took it with a shrug.

"Of course he is!" Anguy raise his drink, "He's handsome."

Tom was already on the phone, but he stil let out a hearty laugh at that.

Lem was shaking his head at Anguy.

"What? He is! I'm just stating the obvious." Anguy took a sip from his drink before setting it down on the coffee table.

"I'm an ugly guy. I can say that because it's true. I have red hair and too many freckles, and I'm too skinny. It's the truth!" he turned to Lem. "You're ugly. You have a face like an ass. That's the truth too. Arya, she's pretty. Gabriella, she's pretty."

"She's very pretty!" Tom cut in before he turned his attention back to his phone call.

"She's very pretty." Anguy repeated with a smile. "And He" he pointed at Gendry, "Is handsome."

Lem was still shaking his head at Anguy. "That's gay. You're sleeping with Harwin tonight." he told the red head before he stood from the sofa and crossed to the balcony doors.

Gendry smiled and took a small sip from his drink. It was strong.

Tom ended the call and told Gendry washing supplies were on their way up before he started fixing himself another drink.

The afternoon passed by fast after that.

Gendry finished washing, and Anguy and Harwin started dinner.

This was one of the most surreal situations Gendry had ever been in. Arya showed up on his flat door and his life took the most bizarre twist.

But this . . . being over a thousand miles from home, washing clothes and sharing dinner with the oddest group of friends; cause there was no doubt they were friends, not to mention, a group of friends who had him captive . . .

That had to be the oddest thing that would happen to him in a while, Gendry was sure, and this was the last place he expected to be at after the week Arya and him had had.

After dinner, everyone started getting ready.

The suit Tom had lent him was a bit tight across the chest, but Gendry decided it woudn't be so tight if he left the jacket unbuttoned.

This would be the first time Gendry would wear a suit.

He looked at his reflection in the mirror and it felt like someone else was wearing his face rather than him wearing someone else's clothes.

Arya walked out of the shower in the bathrobe and Gendry left the room so she could get ready.

Harwin and Lem both sat in the table playing dominos. Gendry was surprised at how well they both looked in a suit.

He sat next to Harwin and watched as they played.

"How's our little lady doing?" Tom asked Gendry from the sofa.

"Don't let her hear you call her that." Gendry told Tom with a smile.

"Well why not. That is what she is. A delicate, flower."

_"Bloody Hell!_" Arya yelled from inside the bedroom, most likely at those shoes, Gendry thought.

"Delicate flower indeed" Anguy snickered as he handed Tom a drink.

"Get the Bull one too" Tom said and he tipped his head back on the sofa and started singing.

Anguy fetched Gendry's drink and sat across from him, next to Lem.

His red hair was sleeked back, making him look older.

Gendry took a sip, still not used to the burn.

"This game always bored me." Anguy said as he inspected the tiles Lem had.

"I've never played it." Gendry admitted.

"We'll have to teach you how then." Harwin said with excitement.

Gendry just nodded and took another sip.

The bedroom door opened and Arya stepped out.

At the sight of her Gendry began to choke on the liquor in his mouth.

Harwin started wacking him on the back, but it still didn't help. The liquor had gone to his nose, and it burned like hell.

Gendry tried to say something, but instead he started coughing again so he pushed the chair back and rose, crossing to the kitchen sink.

He grabbed handfuls of water and started washing out his nose and mouth, swallowing a bit to try and cool the burning.

In the background, he could hear the men complimenting Arya in spanish.

He reached for a kitchen towel and dried his face turning to the others.

His eyes went straight to Arya.

She looked amazing.

The shade of green on the dress was perfect against her pale skin and went well with her dark hair.

It was a strapless, and very simple short dress, and it gave Gendry a good sight of her legs.

The shoes elongated them even more.

He tore his eyes off her and cleared his throat, still feeling the burn.

"I'm not too sure about the hair." Tom said as he walked up to Arya. In those heels, she was almost as tall as him. "Anguy, where do you keep shit you use on your hair?"

"It's on the dresser." Anguy answered, and Tom walked to the back of the room, towards one of the other bedrooms.

"Tom got you these!" Anguy said cheerfully as he took a small box off the table and lifted the lid up. "They're little pear earrings." he smiled.

"They're acorns you idiot!" Lem said from where he sat.

Arya took the box from Anguy.

She looked miserable. Her eyes met Gendry's and he could tell she was pissed at him.

She probably mistook his chocking for laughter. _Good._

Tom returned into the room with his open palm held before him.

When he reached Arya he rubbed his palms together and began combing his fingers through her hair while she slipped the earring on.

Tom turned to Gendry when he found a strand of hair longer than the rest. "Did you do this to her?" he asked accusingly.

Gendry just shook his head.

When Tom was done, Arya's had a messy look to it.

Gendry liked it.

"Enough of that!" Harwin said as he rose from his seat and crossed to a closet to fetch their coats. "Let's be on our way."

Gendry walked into the bedroom him and Arya shared and took their jackets from the closet, giving himself on last look in the mirror.

Everyone was already out in the hallway except for Arya, who waited for him by the door.

She was holding one arm, so that the other crossed infront of her chest.

This was the most skin she had ever displayed, he was sure, and she looked very uncomfortable.

He gave her her jacket, about to say something, but Anguy interrupted them by offering her his arm.

"Get away!" she snapped at him, bringing hysterical laughter from the others.

Harwin locked the door behind Gendry and they all started down the hall towards the lifts.

Arya and Gendry stayed a few feet behind. Arya seemed to be getting used to the shoes, although he was surprised at how well she was walking given the fact that she probable had never used heels before.

"You look different." he whispered to her, earning an evil glare from her. "You actually look like young lady."

Arya scoffed. "I look like an oak tree, with these damn acorn earrings!" she snapped.

Gendry smiled. "Nice though. A nice oak tree." he said as he leaned into her a sniffed at her hair.

_Why the hell was he smelling her?_

The hair product that Tom had put in her hair smelled like strawberries, and Gendry was beginning to wonder if Anguy really was straight.

"You even smell nice for a change." he teased, and that was the last straw, for she whirled to face him and slammed her hands against his chest.

Her foot twisted though, and Gendry found himself catching her by the arms before she hit the floor.

He felt a current of electricity pass through his at the feel of her skin against his.

He wasn't sure if it was the dress, or the lighting, but her eyes looked green.

She bit her lips nervously and looked away, and he cleared his throat and pulled her to her feet, picking up their jackets from where they had dropped them.

"Tom, imbecil! Quieres que se mate con esos zapatos!" he heard Harwin yelled from the elevator.

"She's fine!" Tom said as he held the elevator doors open for them. "She has her bull to catch her if she falls." he winked at Arya and Gendry pretended not to notice.

The air outside was like knifes against their faces, and the jacket he had was not enough to keep his teeth from chattering.

Tom turned on the truck heater full blast as soon as eveyone was inside, but before the cabin began to warm, they were already parking outside a large building.

There was a long line of people waiting outside, despite the cold and Gendry laughed at the stupidity of it.

Harwin walked right up to the doorman and he unclipped the cord, letting them all walk in with out even checking if Arya had an ID.

They walked inside a dark hallway that led to a small cloakroom. Arya and Gendry hung their jackets side by side and followed Harwin and the rest up some stairs, towards the music.

Arya held on to Gendry's arm as they walked up the stairs to keep from falling.

When they reached the top and walked into the large club, Gendry couldn't believe his eyes.

It was a nude strip club.

Arya's grasp tightened at the sight of all the women walking around and dancing on poles at the center of the room, and Gendry quickly grabbed her face and pulled it against his shoulder.

"What is wrong with you!" he yelled at Tom, pulling him by his jacket.

"What?" Tom yelled, twisting his face in confusion.

The rest were a few feet ahead of them, and Gendry knew this was the only chance he would get.

He grabbed Arya and turned towards the stairs.

Thanks to Arya's shoes, they only made it a few steps down before Tom and Lem caught up to them.

"What do you think you're doing!" Gendry snapped at them, his voice echoing in the stair well. "She's 16 years old!" he spat out.

"This is where he works. Where he maked his deals. We come to him, not him to us. " Tom explained as he moved aside so Lem could grab Arya.

"Let go of me!" she yelled, trying to free herself from Lem.

"Let her go." Gendry yelled, but Lem had already dragged back inside the club.

"Come, come" Tom said, putting his hand on Gendry's arm, which he pulled away violently.

He followed close behind Lem and Arya towards the back of the room.

Several girls came up to him, but he shugged them off rudely, keeping his eyes on Arya.

They walked into a door, that led to a smaller room full of cigar smoke that had beds in the shape of booths, where men laid with naked women.

The rage came boiling up again, but thankfully Lem crossed the room quickly and they came to door with two guards outside of it who let them walk through without question.

They walked up another flight of stairs.

When they reached the top, they walked down a short corridor to a door, where Harwin and Anguy were waiting.

Lem nodded at them and Harwin opened the door and they all walked in.

It was a large office.

An entire side of the room was a window that overlooked the city.

There was a leather sofa one corner occupied by a man and a girl half his age. On the opposite side of the room was a glass desk a man with long hair and a young woman stood by.

He was leaning over the desk, looking over some documents the woman held out for him.

He noticed them and leaned in to whisper something to the woman, bringing a smile from her before she closed the folder and left the room through a back door.

The man wore all white from head to toe, and reading glasses, which he took off as he walked towards them with a smile on his face.

"Harwin." he said in a thick accent, unknown to Gendry. He acknowledged the rest of the men with a nod, resting his eyes on Gendry briefly, before looking at Arya.

"This is the Stark girl?" he asked, and at that Lem walked her closer to the man, and returned to his place next to Tom.

"Who are you?" Arya asked boldly, making herself as tall as she could.

This brought another smile from the man. "A man who can help."

"That seems to be a broken record with you all." she said bitterly. "I don't see how you can help me, when all I was trying to do when your men kidnapped me, was find my mother."

"And buy a gun." Anguy said, and everyone turned their attention to the red head.

"What?" the man asked Anguy.

Anguy didn't seem intimidated by him. "She was also trying to buy a gun."

"Now why would a lovely girl want a gun?" the man asked Arya, taking a careful step towards her, as if she were a wild animal whose trust he had to gain.

"To protect myself from scum like you." Arya said.

That made everyone in the room laugh. Everyone except Gendry. He was just waiting. Waiting for any sudden movements from any of the men.

"The girl has more courage than sense." the man told Harwin.

"I'm here." Arya yelled, bringing all the laughter to an end. "You say you can help me, then tell me how it is you plan to help me."

Arya surprise Gendry.

He knew she was tough and brave. That was the first side of her he had seen.

She had no idea who this man was though, yet she talked to him with such authority.

"You are Arya Stark, are you not?" the man asked, taking another step towards her.

Arya simply nodded once.

"Then I can help you." he touched his hand to his chest and slightly bowed his head.

"Who are you?" Arya asked him.

He looked up with a smile. "This man has the honor to be Jaqen H'ghar." he said serenely, bowing once again.

"Jaqen," she said mockingly and took a step towards him, catching him by surprise. "And how does Jaqen intend to help me?"

They shared a long intense stare, before he turned away and headed towards his a chair, which was situated in the same spot you would expect the throne to be in a court.

He sat himself, and took a deep breath before he spoke again.

"You and I have something in common." he told her, and raise his hand to stop her from asking anything. "Lannisters." he said in a sinister tone that made Gendry shudder.

"Lannisters." Arya repeated. From where he stood, Gendry couldn't see her face, but he could hear it in her voice that this was a game changer for her. Already this Jaqen guy had her attention.

"Yes. The Lannisters. You are Arya Stark. They murdered your father. Stained his name. The name Stark. They are your enemy. They are my enemy. And, well, the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

Arya exhaled sharply.

"Yes. You already suspected it. Your father was innocent, and they killed him. All for a will. All for money. All for money they owe me. That is why they felt the need to kill your father. For money."

Gendry could see Arya's body tense up.

"Stop it!' he yelled, stepping forward, but Lem crossed quickly to him and pulled him back.

"Stop telling her that!" he yelled at Jaqen.

This was the last thing Arya needed to hear.

Gendry was sure Arya hadn't even had a proper cry about her father's death, and now this asshole was telling her all this shit.

Whether it was the truth or not, it was still fucked up.

"It's the truth. The Lannisters are vermin. Why hide it?"

"It was for a will?" Arya said, her words composed. "For money? But Lannisters have money!"

Jaqen shook his head. "Lannisters are nothing but a name now. Tywin Lannister had been running on empty for years. That is why he married his daughter to a Baratheon." he smiled chuckled. "Yes, arranged marriaged still happen in the 21st century."

"My father . . ." Arya began to say, but Jaqen cut her off.

"Tywin was indebted to me, and well, 'Lannisters always pay their debts', so he marries his daughter off to Baratheon, and he pays the debt . . . but when you fall in business with someone like me, you're bound to fall again." he stood from his chair and started towards Arya. "Luckily, he had Baratheon still . . . that is, up until it came to light that all of Robert and Cersei's little offspring were in fact Cersei and her brother's"

Gendry felt his stomach drop to the floor.

"That's not true." Arya said, shaking her head.

"There's more!" Jaqen smiled at her, enjoying every moment of this revelation. "Robert has a bastard son laying around somewhere. A certain, Gendry Waters."

At the sound of his name, Gendry felt every pore in his body open, and he fought very hard with the shudder that threatened to make him twitch.

"Robert becomes interested in finding him, and then he begins meeting with his lawyer, and with his most trusted friend, Eddard Stark . . . and all the while, Cersei is just a few steps behind them."

It was true. It was all true.

Yoren had old him so, but just now, on this very moment, was it all becoming real.

"So she started getting rid of all the pieces in the game she didn't need. The lawyer. Dead. Ned, the witness. Dead. Robert Baratheon, laying on a hospital bed, with her in full control of whether he lives or dies. The only two things that are missing for her plan to be complete are the bastard and the will. All she needs to do now is find both the bastard and the new will and make sure no one ever sees either again."

"How do you know all this?" Arya said stiffly.

Jaqen smiled again. It made Gendry want to punch him.

"I had someone stay close to the Lannisters, watching over their every move . . . But she went missing the same day your father was killed. Which is why I need you know. If we work together, we can stop Cersei. We can stop the Lannisters."

The room fell silent.

No one spoke, no one said anything for what felt like minutes.

Finally, Arya rose her gaze to meet Jaqen's. "If you stop Cersei, she won't be able to pay you. Why would you want to stop her? What's in it for you?"

"Clever girl." Jaqen said sweetly as he reached to caress Arya's face.

For some reason, that made Gendry's blood boil. Thankfully, she stepped back, breaking away from his touch.

"If it's taken me as long as it has to figure the Lannister's out, it won't take long before someone else find out. She's paid off some of the police, but the truth may still surface.

Cersei is desperate, and so she's careless. If the authorities find her out, they'll trace everything back to me."

"So you want to cut that link." Arya stated.

"I'll lose money, but I'll gain more by washing my hands of the Lannisters."

"And how am I suppose to help you?" Arya asked.

"You would be bate." Jaqen said transparently.

At that Gendry pulled away from Lem. "Who do you think you are!" he pointed a finger at Jaqen.

The man that was on the couch with the girl was quick to cross over the Gendry, but held a hand up, and the man stop where he stood.

"We're leaving." Gendry said, grabbing Arya by the arm. She pulled away, giving him a stern look.

"No harm will come to her. We just need her to lure Cersei in." Jaqen said soothingly.

Gendry looked down. They could use me.

He glanced over at Arya, and it was as if she read his mind, because she said, "No."

"You don't have to use her!" Gendry said to Jaqen, ignoring Arya.

She already had a hold of his arm though, and she was pulling him back. "Stop." Arya pleaded angrily.

He turned to face her, his expression just as angry as hers. "No." he said, holding on to her shoulders.

"Get him out of here." Jaqen said, and the man from the couch walked up to Gendry, as did Lem.

"No. Use me! I'm..." but the they had punched the air out of him, and he collapsed on the floor.

He could hear Arya screaming at them to stop.

With one hand he pushed himself up, and when someone reached over to grab him, either Lem or the other man, he swung his fist at them, which gained him a hit across the face with something hard.

Possibly the back of a gun.

He saw a flash of green. What looked like Arya running up to him, before he lost consciousness.

xxxxxxxxxx

Jaime's tongue swept her mouth hungrily as he moved to slip his hand under her dress, bringing a small laugh from Cersei.

He pulled his mouth free of hers, and began kissing his way down her neck.

Cersei gasped. "Jaime."

"Mmmm." he moaned into her neck, nibbling at the collar bone.

She closed her eyes, letting out a little moan.

"Jaime . . . . . I had brunch . . . with Margeary Tyrell today. . . . . . I'm . . inviting her over to dinner . . ." she moaned again, louder this time.

"Mmm hmm..." he said, as his hand traveled up her thigh, and his mouth kissed his way lower.

" I want you to seduce her." Cersei whispered.

Jaime pulled his mouth away from her skin, his half lidded eyes blinking, so that he could focus. "What? What the fuck?"

Cersei sat up straight, fixing her dress. " You heard me. I need you to seduce her. Make her fall in love with you. Propose to her. Marry her."

At that Jaime rolled off her and crawled to the edge of the bed.

He had been looking forward to this night for so long, she knew. He had even gone out of his way and arranged for the children to get out of the house.

The room had been filled with candles, and the bed with petals. He had done every possible cliche in the book, it almost made her laugh when she walked into the room.

He was so silly sometimes. But she still loved him.

She hated ruining this for him, but she needed to get it over with.

"I'm sorry, but it has to be done." she told him as she crawled over to him and wrapped her arms around him.

"You're with me, yet you're asking me to seduce . . . hell, to marry someone else."

"It's a sacrifice we need to make. I made it too, remember!" she said as tears began to well up in her eyes.

"I made that sacrifice for us all once. Now it's your turn."

Jaime pulled away from her, rising from the bed to face her. "Why can't you wait. We can still find that will."

"How?" she yelled, "We've tried everything!"

"What about Cat?" Jaime offered, trying to soothe her. "Ned and her were close. I'm sure she knows something. Her children are missing, she's here, I know it. She's vulnerable. She has that weakness."

"It can also be her strength. Her love for her children." Cersei said, looking away from her twin.

"I'm still looking the bastard. I've been moving in slowly, but I know I've got something going."

"I can't afford for you to move in slowly." she rolled her eyes at him.

"What do you expect. They're fucking cops, and not the ones you've bought. Give me a bit more time. I'll be on his tail soon, I promise you. I know how important this is for you."

"One week, Jaime. I give you one week to find out what you need. To find the boy, and to kill him." she said as she rose from the bed, no longer in the mood.

Jaime looked away and nodded, clearly angry.

"One week. I want Gendry Waters dead in a week. Or we do things my way."

xxxxxxxxxx

Someone splashed cold water on Gendry's face, waking him.

"Arya." he mumbled as he turned on his side.

He was on the bed, back at the hotel.

"She's on her way. Lem just called. He dropped her off at the front." Harwin stood over him with an empty bottle of water.

Gendry sat up, a little too fast, and a sharp pain bit into his skull.

"Who hit me?" Gendry asked as he began to unbutton the wet shirt.

"Lem. With his gun. He won't be back until sunrise, no doubt. They all stayed behind at the club. He just came to drop Arya off. You can settle the score then." Harwin laughed and walked out of the room.

"I will." Gendry told himself as he pulled the shirt off and tossed it to the floor.

There was a knock on the front door. "There's our girl." Harwin called as he unlocked the door.

"Where is he." Arya asked.

Gendry blinked up and saw her walk into the room, heels in hand. "Are you ok?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. You're bleeding." she told him, throwing the heels to the side and crawling on the bed, and towards him.

She pulled his head to the side, inspecting right above his eyebrow. "You need stiches." she told him as she slid off the bed and out of the room.

Gendry slid to the edge of the bed, and walked over to the dresser.

Right above his right eyebrow was a large gash.

She was right. It needed stitching.

On the other room she could hear her arguing with Harwin.

_"I can't call a doctor_." Harwin told her. "_I can get you a first aid kit. Maybe some needle and thread. You can sew him up, if you like. It's all I can do for you."_

Gendry walked into the restroom and carefully washed the cut.

_Maybe it wasn't so deep._

But the water only exposed it more.

"I'll stitch you up." Arya said, walking into the restroom.

"You will?" Gendry asked dubiously.

"Unless you want to."

He smiled and grabbed a towel from the sink, drying his face, careful with the cut. "I trust you." he told her.

She nodded and walked out, leaving him to follow.

"What happened tonight?" he asked her.

He could feel fresh blood begin to well on the wound again. She noticed it.

"Stop moving." she said, forcing him to sit on the bed.

He did.

There was another knock on the front door and Arya left the room briefly.

She returned with a first aid kit, a small sewing kit, and a bottle of vodka and headed to the bathroom. "I'll do it in here." she called to him.

"Arya. What happened tonight?" he asked her again as he walked into the restroom and sat himself on the toilet lid.

"I made a deal with Jaqen. He's going to help us." she opened the sewing kit, taking out a thick needle and some thread.

"Smaller needle. What kind of deal?" Gendry asked as he pointed to another needle.

"He helps us, we help him. Like he said." she said as she began threading the needle.

"By turning you into bate." Gendry shook his head. "We could use me."

"I knew you were going to say that. It's a good thing Lem knocked you unconsious." She stabbed the threaded needle into the towel around Gendry's shoulder and uncapped the bottle of peroxide that was in the kit.

"Really? It's a good thing, is it?" Gendry said sarcastically.

Arya rolled her eyes at him and tilted his head to the side, carefully pouring the peroxide on the wound. She poured a bit more a second time before she capped the bottle and uncapped the vodka.

Holding the needle over the sink, she poured vodka over it and the thread.

"Hold still." she said as she leaned into his face.

"Arya we can't trust him."

Arya placed her fingers under the wound carefully and slid the needle into the flesh.

Gendry groaned in pain, but kept himself from moving.

She pushed the needle further in until she saw it break through the skin, then she slid it out easily.

"I do trust him. We need him." she said, as she pulled the thread through.

"We need him?" Gendry let out bitterly.

Arya moved to start on the next stitch. "Yes. We do." she said as she pushed the needle into his skin.

This one hurt more than the first one, for some reason, and Gendry involuntarily grabbed the first thing he reached, which turned out to be Arya's thigh.

She pulled away quickly, careful not to mes up the stiching. "Don't" she said gravely, looking into his eyes. "I'm ticklish." she admitted.

Gendry couldn't hold the smile back.

He thought he saw her face begin to flush, but she turned away to grab one of the smaller hand towels, rolling it up one handedly.

"Bite down on this instead." she said leaning into his face once more.

She _was _blushing!

He couldn't say anything though. Thanks to the towel.

"Look. He proved himself. Sorta. But I trust him."

"How?" Gendry managed to say through the towel.

Arya ignored him, making him spit out the towel to ask her again.

"How did he prove himself?"

"He just did. Stop moving. This is already looking awful, without you moving and messing it up more."

"Great." Gendry rolled his eyes, before he groaned in pain as Arya slid the needle in again.

"I used to suck at embroidery." she teased.

"Just . . . shut up. Shut up Arya." Gendry told her with a smile.

xxxxxxxxxx

It had taken her longer than she had expected to get to Sheffield, but she had finally made it, and the first place she went to was home.

She was surprised to see the dogs were gone as she walked in through the back door.

It was night already, and she couldn't see a thing, but she felt too afraid to turn on any of the lights.

She couldn't explain why, but she was.

The house was as it should be. Everything in place. But iwas just that now. A house.

An empty house.

She began to weep, collapsing on the kitchen floor.

The last time she had been in this kitchen, it had been with Arya, right before Ned drove her and the boys to the station.

"Ned." Cat gasped out. "Arya."

That day, they were all still a family.

Whole.

Happy.

Cat pushed herself up, and she went straight to her husband's office.

She had to find the number of their attorney. Even if she had to wake the man up, she would call him, and force him to meet her.

As soon as she walked in, though, she let out a scream.

Someone was sitting on her husband's desk. "The god's must be on my side." said a familiar voice, before Cat had any time to react.

"Cersei?" Cat gasped out as she walked towards the desk.

"I came here to see if I could find out where I could find you, and instead, I find you."

"Get out of my house!" Cat said, her words like steel.

Cersei didn't make a move to rise.

Instead she let out a laugh, and turned on the small desk lamp.

She was wearing a night robe, and her hair was a mess.

But what Cat couldn't keep her eyes off of was the gun she held.

"I need that will." Cersei said.

"You need to leave my house." Cat said coldly, but it only made Cersei throw her head back with laughter. "I'm calling the cops." Cat said, turning for the door.

"You'll do no such thing." Cersei said as she cocked the gun. "If you want to see your children, you will tell me where that will is."

Cat froze at that.

"I know you know where it is. So tell me."

Cat turned slowly to face Cersei. Tears welling in her eyes. "You're a mother. How can you do this. After taking my husband. Splitting up my family. How can you threaten to hurt my children."

"The will Catelyn. I have no time for theatrics."

Cat closed her eyes tightly. Shaking her head delicately. "I don't know." She sobbed out "I don't know." she said sincerely, hoping Cersei would believe her.

The expression on her face let Cat know that she did believe her.

"You're not lying." Cersei said closing her eyes. "You really don't know where it is?"

Cat shook her head.

"That's a pity. You're useless now." Cersei said and she pulled the trigger, the shot ringing loudly in the air.

**Translation:**

**Hotel Delivery guy/Santi: Buenas tardes. Sus trajes de la tintoreria, y el vestido que Tom le pidio a Gabriela = Good afternoon. Here are your suits from the dry cleaners, and the dress Tom asked Gabriela for.**

**Anguy: Gracias Santi = Thanks Santi**

**Harwin: Tom, imbecil! Quieres que se mate con esos zapatos? = Tom, you imbecile, do you want her to kill herself in those shoes?**

**AN**

**Ok. I have a lot to say. First off, to get it over with, There are pictures of Arya's dress, shoes, hair style and even the acorn earrings on my profile.**

**Please go check them out. They're great.**

**I also posted pictures of another pair of earrings.**

**I was debating with myself whether or not Arya should even have pierced ears, but I asked "gendrybaratheonn" on tumblr, and she said she should, and even sent me a link of a badass pair of wold earrings that i think Arya might have worn before she became Arry.**

**Thanks for that "gendrybaratheonn" :)**

**Moving on. I'm replying to all of your reviews, and as always, thanks you for them, and I really hope you can all leave a review for this chapter. If you read, it, review it. It doesn't take long, and it really helps me.**

**Now for those guest, whom I cannot reply to, I'll answer anything you may ask in my AN**

**Now, I still had the same reviewer, miss "Not So Cool" saying my spanish was off, and wondering if i get offended.**

**I don't. I appreciate any constructive criticism! :) And I will double check with my love translator "egaara"**

**NOWWW! to the chapter.**

**This was my longest chapter yet. Even longer than the epic chapter 10.**

**I know I was suppose to update until after Vegas, but i couldn't help myself.**

**It's literally 4:44 am and Im suppose to catch a 10:30 plane. So I apologize if there are a few mistakes, I just skimmed through it.**

**SO yea... all for you guys!**

**SOOO this chapter**

**A lot going on. FIrst (and this is not the order of how the chapter went)**

**Sansa lost her virginity to Joffrey. And she hates him now, incase I didn't make that clear.**

**Also, she hates herself for not leaving with the Hound, but she has a plan!**

**Now! Arya and Gendry!**

**A lot more subtle flirtishness in this chapter. Gendry is beginning to admit to himself how he feels.**

**They go to Madrid. and yes, Jaqen is the BwB leader.**

**I know, major twist, but I think it works.**

**and finally**

**Cersei! I hate you! Youre sick. I hope you die!**

**Yea, a nasty Cersei chapter, with that scary awful Cat cliffhanger.**

**Please Please please review! You have no idea how happy reviews make me!**

**This was a big chapter, so there should be some thoughts you may want to share.**

**I love you all!**

**Vegas, here we come**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

When Arya opened her eyes the first thing she saw was the back of Gendry's arm.

She flinched back, pushing herself away from him.

_I do cuddle! _

She thought in horror, feeling her face heat with embarrassment and anger towards herself.

_Stupid! Stupid! Stupid._

Her eyes glanced over to Gendry, who had his back to her.

The impression of her body on the mattress was still visible right behind him.

She combed her fingers through her hair to calm herself. It was still stiff from all the hair product Tom applied last night. Or rather, earlier this morning.

A shower is in order, she thought as she kicked the covers off herself and jumped off the bed. She stole a last glance towards Gendry.

The muscles on his back were corded, despite the fact that he was sleeping.

Her stomach turned with nervousness.

_What is happening to you Arya?_ She asked herself, taking in a deep breath.

There had been more than one occasion where Arya had seen a shirtless guy.

The gym.

The public pool.

That summer at the beach when she was on vacation with the Baratheons.

Never before had a man's body made her feel this way though.

If anything, she frowned in disgust at the comments Sansa made about men.

This was different though.

This was Gendry.

Gendry her friend. The guy who arrested her, when no one else would.

The guy that was actually willing to wrestle her, rather than call her a little silly girl for even thinking about wrestling a guy. The guy who said she wasn't ordinary; who ran away with her and felt the silly need to protect her.

He was stubborn, and an over thinker. He teased her endlessly.

But Arya couldn't forget the feeling she felt when he said they were two against four when Tom and the rest took them captive.

He actually considered her someone strong enough to fight men. He considered her his equal. And that had made Arya's insides jump in a way no one else had caused before.

"I think I like him." she confessed to herself inside the shower.

And then tears of anger welled up in her eyes, and she didn't fight them.

She just let the water wash them away, hoping it also washed away the feelings she felt.

In her head she replayed moments. His self defense lessons, and the fire that they ignited inside her chest.

The way her stomach jumped every time he rolled his eyes at her, or smiled at her.

When he would say her name. When he would give her that pissed off look that let her know she had been reckless.

_He stood by me. _

He had his own demons to face and run from. His father was Robert Baratheon, and according to Jaqen, Cersei wanted him dead.

Gendry should get as far away from her and everyone else involved in this entire mess.

But he stood by her.

He was her only friend in the world.

The bed was empty when Arya walked out of the shower in the now clean jeans and shirt Yoren had brought for her. She made a mental note to do the laundry next time it needed to be done.

But then she remembered her conversation with Jaqen the night before, and realized she wasn't sure if that would be possible now.

Gendry had bugged her endlessly the night before, and they had even argued when she wouldn't tell him the plan.

"_You just met the guy, and youre gonna tell me that... that all of a sudden you trust him, and you can't tell me shit?!"_

_Arya let her glance fall to the floor, "No," she answered hesitantly. "It's compicated." she finally told him, not meeting his eyes._

_"Fine." he said, "Fuck it. Whatever." he turned away from her, but she caught him by the arm, half expecting him to pull away from her. _

_He didn't._

_"You're my friend. My only friend. Everything's gone so wrong, and you are the only person I completely trust. Jaqen said..."_

_Gendry gently pulled away from her then, looking into her eyes for a brief moment, "It's fine. You don't have to tell me." he said weakly. His words and expression drained of the anger he had had moments ago. "We should go to sleep."_

_And he turned away from Arya, slipping out of Tom's pants and into bed in just his briefs, turning his back to Arya's side of the bed._

"I'll tell him." she said out loud towards the side of the bed he had slept in.

They were both stubborn and proud and that was an awful combination. But she would find a way of making him know how much she actually cared for his friendship and how much she actually trusted him.

Gendry and the rest of the men were sitting at the table when Arya walked out of the room.

Only Harwin and Gendry were eating.

Tom, Lem and Anguy looked half dead and hungover.

"Rough night?" Arya called to them with a small smile as she sat on the seat next to Lem. Only Anguy looked up with a wince that might have been a smile.

She glanced at Gendry. The area arround his stitches was an aggressive violet-red and it looked a bit swollen, but thankfully not infected.

It would be the first thing she would tell her mother when she saw her again, Arya thought with a small smile.

Maybe she sucked at needle work, unlike Sansa, but she had successfully stitched up Gendry. She was sure Sansa would have fainted, or grown sick at the sight of the gash.

Gendry was looking at all the men expectantly. Arya's eyes furrowed, confused.

Tom cleared his throat at the end of the table suddenly, making her turn her attention to him.

"We owe you an apology." He said lowly, clearing his throat a second time, "The strip club. We shouldn't have put you through that. It was Jaqen's orders, but we should have found a better way to get you to him."

"It's ok." Arya told him with a shrug, turning to Gendry.

She didn't doubt he had given them the same speech he had given Harwin earlier that morning after she had stitched him up.

"No it's not." Gendry said with a hint of irritation.

"It's not." Lem said stupidly, shaking his head at the table, never looking up. It made Arya want to snicker.

"You don't take innocent little girls to a strip club." Anguy added.

Arya made a face. "I'm not innocent!"

That brought light laughter from the men. All except Gendry.

"Yes you are!" he said and at that, Anguy looked up at Gendry, his eyes growing wide.

"Oh fuck! Your face!" he cried, reaching over with a finger, probing at Gendry's brow before Gendry smacked his hand away.

"You cut him open Lem!" Tom cried, amused.

Arya was surprised, since that was the first thing that drew the eyes when you looked at Gendry's face, that they were just now noticing the stitches.

"Who stitched you up?" Anguy asked, glancing meaningfully at Arya.

"I did." she answered before Gendry could, and crossed her arms over her chest, daring Anguy to make fun.

"I doubt your delicate feminine touch could have done a better job." Gendry told Anguy with a smile, catching Arya's eyes.

She smiled too, looking down shyly.

_Oh my God, Ive turned into Sansa. _

She felt her face redden at the realization.

"She's blushing!" Tom cried, pointing at her face.

Arya's eyes grew wide, and her forehead wrinkled at the accusation. Everyone's eyes were on her when she looked up at the men, and that made her face heat even more.

"No I'm not! she yelled like a child and pushed her chair back, stomping towards the balcony.

_"Sure, you notice that, but not the bloody stitches!" _she heard Harwin tell Tom before she closed the door behind her.

The cold air felt good against her warm face, and she took in several lungfuls, feeling in chill her lungs.

She heard the balcony door open behind her, and she was half expecting it to be Gendry, only to find out it was Harwin.

"Have you told him yet?" he asked behind her after a long moment of silence.

Arya rolled her eyes, and shook her head. "I don't like him." she lied.

"Not that." Harwin said with a small laugh. "I don't think you have to tell that to him. That's clear to everyone, even Lem."

That made Arya fume. _So everyone could tell_.

"I meant if you've told him you have to leave him behind?"

Arya flinched at the words. "No." she said stiffly.

Behind her, Harwin sighed.

"Well, you should. You owe it to him." he told her, sounding so much like her father it brought tears to her eyes.

When she turned to face him, but he was gone, and she wiped at the tears and followed him inside.

xxxxxxxxxx

Brienne pulled at a loose thread on the sleeve of her sweater, balling it up between her thumb and her index as she sat in the hospital waiting room.

Renly had first heard about his brother over the television and had tried to visit him that same night, but Cersei didn't allow it.

Robert, Stannis and Renly had never been close, but Renly still felt a bit sad over the situation with Robert.

After being turned away though, Renly had pretended like it hadn't hurt him, and had gone about his days like nothing had happened, until Brienne finally convinced him about trying to visit Robert again after she had seen the report on the television about Robert and his persistent comma.

Renly had finally given in and had even asked Brienne accompany him.

The feelings that stirred inside her upset her more than she wished.

You would have expected Ren to ask Loras to accompany him, rather than her, but he had asked her, and that had made her insides turn to jello and she hated it.

Renly walked into the waiting room, and she could tell he had been crying.

"How is he?" Brienne asked as she stood from her seat and crossed over to Renly.

He merely shook his head and she found herself hugging him as he began to sob against her shoulder.

"Shhh." she whispered in her deep voice, feeling her eyes fill with tears. "I so sorry Ren. I'm right here."

She whispered over and over, rubbing his arms soothingly.

He pulled away slowly and looked into her eyes, his face was just a few inches away from hers.

"Thank you Brienne. You're such a good friend." he whispered and leaned in to kiss her softly near her lips.

She closed her eyes, swallowing hard.

"Renly?" she heard someone call, and when she opened her eyes, she saw Cersei Baratheon.

Brienne recognized her, as well as her children, from the news reports.

With her was the man who had called Brienne over to his car back at the station a few days ago, and she realized this was probably her twin brother, Jaime Lannister.

"Cersei." Renly said, pulling himself free of Brienne's embrace, taking a few steps towards his sister in law.

"I thought I made myself clear, Renly, I don't want..."

Renly cut her off. "Yes, yes. You made yourself very clear. We were just leaving." he told her rudely, grabbing Brienne's hand and pulling her down the hall towards the exit.

Her eyes met the man's for just a second, and a shiver ran down her spine.

xxxxxxxxxx

After breakfast Gendry and Arya packed the few belongings they had waited downstairs for Tom to bring the truck around.

It seemed that every day that passed grew colder, bringing more snow, and more wind.

Her father had been right when he had told her that this winter would be an especially cold one.

All trains and flights were cancelled and so their only choice was to drive.

Anguy chattered on as usual, and Arya really wished he would just shut up for a moment.

She had asked Tom if Gendry and her could ride in the camper, since she wanted the privacy to talk to him, but Tom said it would be way too cold, and Arya didn't argue.

It was almost impossible to have any real privacy with them, except when Gendry and her were in their bedroom.

They drove on for most of the morning, not stopping, until about 3, when it grew almost impossible to see anything through all the snow.

Lem had put chains on the tires, but even so, not long after they started driving again, did the truck begin to swerve on the road and Harwin suggested the stop for the day.

"I've never seen it snow like this before." Gendry told Arya, and she nodded.

This was crazy. A blizzard, no doubt. A monster blizzard out to get them, and swallow them whole.

"Me either." Anguy agreed.

They stopped at a hotel that stood right infront of the motorway, and Harwin checked them in while the rest smacked the snow off each other's coats and jackets that had collected quickly on their short run from the truck.

Arya was surprised Harwin got Gendry and her a room of their own, but she was sure that after the deal struck with Jaqen, he knew they wouldn't run.

As soon as they walked into their room and Gendry closed and locked the door behind him he turned to Arya.

"We should make a run for it. As soon as the storm ebbs a bit." he told her.

Arya took in a deep breath, and from the look on his face, she could tell he was expecting her to say what she said next.

"I can't."

He huffed out, rolling his eyes. "Can't or won't."

Arya closed her eyes.

She had been ready to tell him. She had been preparing her speech the entire ride here, but she found herself at a loss for words.

"Both." she let out weakly.

He rubbed a hand over his, letting out an exasperated grunt.

She realized she had to tell him. She just didn't want to.

Not because she didn't trust him, but because telling him, meant she would have to also tell him that she had to leave him behind, and she didn't want to tell him that, because she didn't want to leave him behind.

"It's complicated," she began to say, "but..."

"Really Arya?" he snapped at her, "Cause I'm a smart guy, so why don't you explain it to me?" he yelled, surprising her with his sudden anger.

Her breaths began to grow labored as she searched her mind for the best way to explain it all to him. He had a right to be upset. She surely would if she were in his shoes. Even if it hurt him, Harwin was right. She owed Gendry an explanation.

Gendry was staring at her, waiting for her answer. She finally opened her mouth to speak, but he spoke before her.

"I didn't have to do this." he whispered. "I didn't ask for any of this. For you to turn up at my place!" he began to raise his voice with every word. "I didn't have to come with you, and help you, and risk my life for you." he was yelling now. "I had my own shit to deal with. I had my own life. But I did! I came. I'm here, and I've risked my life for you. I did. Alright. I did."

Arya felt a fury rise inside her, and all other emotion was gone. All except the anger.

"Why did you?! Huh?" she demanded as she walked up to him and shoved him back forcefully. "You didn't have to. I didn't need you." her voice broke, and tears began to well in her eyes, but she choked them back. "I could have done all of this on my own." she shoved him again, "I didn't ask you for your help! I didn't ask you to risk your life, so why did you?Tell me! Why did you!" Her hands slammed against his shoulders once more, but he made no move to push her hands away. He only stood his ground.

"Tell me!" she yelled furiously.

His eyes met hers, and they were glazed with unshed tears. "I don't know." he whispered. "But I'm starting to think it was a mistake."

She blinked back, worrying her bottom lip against her teeth, stealing a quick breath before she spoke again.

"Well, it's not too late. You can still leave. No one is stopping you."

There was a long, pause before he finally spoke.

"Maybe I will." he said through clenched teeth as he turned and left the room.

Arya closed her eyes, hoping that kept the tears from falling, but a few managed to escape, and she let them rest on her face.

She hated hurting Gendry.

Making him feel that she didn't care or appreciate him.

But it was easier this way, she thought. For him to leave her, instead of her leaving him.

She was used to it. People always left her. Gendry would be just one more.

It was still snowing outside, and Gendry had left his jacket, so she was almost sure he hadn't left.

But when he didn't return right away, she began to grow restless and left the room for a walk.

She ended up at the lobby, and when she heard Tom's singing coming from the pub, she walked in and sat on a stool by the bar. The bar was full of ruddy faced men and and women. There was no doubt all were sheltering from the cold outside

She looked to her side and noticed Tom had a fairly pretty woman sitting on his lap as he sang in Spanish. Harwin sat across from them, drinking and clapping along to Tom's song.

Lem was in a different table, leaning in to whisper something into the ear of a woman, who in turn giggled thickly and leaned in to whisper something in his ear.

Anguy and Gendry were nowhere to be seen.

The bartender offered her a drink, but she refused it.

A man a few years older than Harwin sat himself next to her and said something to her in Catalan.

She didn't understand Catalan, and his breath stank of liquor, so she leaned away from him quick, making it even more difficult for her to catch anything he said.

"Get away!" she told him, and she moved to the empty stool next to her.

"Ah, you're english." he said in a thick accent. "I said, you are very beautiful." he said, before he hiccuped.

"And I said, get away, so bugger off." she said in a low voice, not wanting to attract attention to herself.

The old man moved so that he was once again sitting next to her. "What's your name, sweet peach?" he leaned into her once more, nearly falling off his stool and on her.

"I think she said bugger off." Gendry said as he caught the man before he fell on Arya. "So, leave her be."

Arya noticed the hard squeeze he gave the man's shoulder.

The man's eyes widened a bit as he eyes Gendry up and down, and for a moment, all the drunkenness seemed to drain out of him as he slid off the stool and walked away.

Gendry placed his beer on the bar and sat himself next to her, never meeting her eyes,

Arya, on the other hand, didn't tear her eyes off his face. After a while, he noticed.

"I know. I'm sorry." he said acidly, not sounding the least bit sorry. "I'm sure you could have handled that all on your own."

"Gendry, I... What I said... That wasn't the way I meant it."

"Yes it is." he said, cradling the beer bottle in his hands and turning it idly. "Now, go away. I want to drink this in peace. This is no place for little girls."

She knew he said the last on purpose, to spite her, and it worked, for she clenched her jaw to hold back her words.

"Gend.."

"I said, Go away." he told her slowly, marking every word, as if he were speaking to a child. He looked into her eyes then, and for the first time every Arya saw nothing in his blue eyes.

She rolled her eyes and whirled off the seat, running for the stairs, taking them two at a time until she was at their floor.

She took her second shower of the day, hoping it would calm her, and slipped in her bed, her hair still wet.

Later that night, she wasn't sure how late, she felt Gendry walk into the room. She opened her eyes a crack, and saw that he only turned on a table lamp and it was only so he could undress himself and drunkenly.

She stared at his slow moves from under her lashes, and was about to speak, when she saw him pull his pants off, briefs and all, exposing his bum.

Arya shut her eyes quickly, embarrassed that she'd witnessed that, but even more embarrassed that she wanted to open her eyes again.

She heard the click of the lamp as he turned it off, and opened her eyes again.

She was almost certain he would try and sleep on the floor, but to her surprise, he slipped into the bed next to her, as always giving her his back, and before long, he was snoring lightly.

Arya sat up on the bed and stared at his slightly uncovered shoulder for what felt like minutes.

"Good night Gendry." she finally said, when she was sure he was a sleep, and she slipped under the covers.

That night, she dreamt of blood. Blood, and death, and her father.

When she woke the, her chest felt heavy and hollow.

She rubbed at her eyes with her knuckles and rolled out of bed.

Gendry wasn't in bed anymore, but again, his jacket was still there.

She walked to the window and noticed it had stopped snowing, but the streets were thick with over a foot of snow.

Snow was Jon's favorite part about Winter.

She closed the curtains and changed into her jeans and shirt, and slipped into her boots.

With hope, they would leave today.

She splashed cold water on her face and hair, trying to placate it as much as she could, before she headed out of the room.

There was no answer in the room the others were staying in, so she took the lift downstairs.

_They were probably at the pub, the drunks._

The elevator doors opened, and Arya furrowed her brows.

The lobby was dead.

No one was behind the front desk. All she could hear was a distant, canned voice from the television in the pub. When she followed the sound into the pub, she saw everyone standing and sitting around the television that hung from the ceiling. The bartender, the front desk clerk, a few hotel guests, the bell boy, Harwin and the guys, and Gendry.

_On tv:_

_"...A neighbor called authorities when she saw light coming from one of the Stark residence's rooms. When the police broke in, they found Ned Stark's wife, Catelyn, dead in her husband's office. The death is still under investigation, but it seems that all clues point to suicide..."_

"Who's going to tell her?" Tom whispered, his eyes still glued to the television.

Arya inhaled sharply, and everyone turned to face her. She sobbed out thickly, before turning away from them and running for the door. Someone called her name. Either Gendry or Harwin. But she kept running.

Out the hotel, across the snowy parking, until she came to the side of motorway, where she stopped.

Her chest heaving with every sob, and she found it hard to breath. Hard to move.

Snow covered everything. Everything around her was white. White swallowed up everything, except her.

Except the emptiness inside her. Except the pain.

The tears were cold on her face, but nothing compared to the cold inside her chest. That hollow that had been present ever since her father's death, was now an abyss, and she was falling in.

"Arya."

She turned slowly, facing Gendry, who stood a few feet away from her.

His breathing was hard, from the running, and rising in the air in small clouds.

"Arya" he said her name again.

And she ran. Ran towards him, until she collapsed into his chest, sobbing loudly.

"i've got you." he whispered against her forehead as his arms wrapped around her firmly, pulling her up to her feet.

She kept falling though, slipping from his iron grasp; but he kept his arms firm around her, repeating those same words.

"I've got you...

I won't let go...

I've got you."

Until she somehow felt the darkness that was pulling her become stronger that him, and she felt too heavy...

That's when he put an arm under her legs and picked her off the floor in one swift move move and craddled her against his chest, turning towards the hotel.

She clung to him, feeling the darkness swallow her up completely. And she gave in.

_Jon, her father, and now ... her mother._

**AN**

**I'm back. With another chapter. Las Vegas was bleh, but just cause it was work. Beautiful city though.**

**This chapter ... hoooo... well, it was a heavy one to write. This is where the story begins to change, cause as we all know, this scene ends with The Hound taking Arya, but it didn't happen that way. **

**SO... THank you all for your wonderful reviews. You're all amazing, and you make this story possible by reviewing. **

**I hope to reach my goal of 200 reviews by chapter (with both the Stark girl and that Stark girl) and we're almost there :)**

**also... once i reach chapter 20, I will go back and sorta clean up the story, for those of you interested in rereading it from the top, It'll be nice and clean and more clear.**

**so it'll be sorta like a that Stark girl marathon ... lol**

**Again, thanks for your reviews. I love you all...**

**PS: I really recommend you listen to Never Let me go by Florence for that last scene. It's what i was listening to and the scene echoes off the song**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Gendry's jaw was clenched tight as he stared at the television. _Arya's mother is dead_. Suicide, they said.

Fucked up bullshit, is what that was. Lies. Orchestrated lies. Lannister lies.

"Who's going to tell her?" Tom asked behind him, but all Gendry really heard was, _'you're the one who has to tell her.'_

And Gendry knew everyone was right in thinking it was his job to do it. He was her friend, after all.

The pub was quiet, besides the television, so everyone was able to hear the gasp, and Gendry's heart skipped a beat, for he knew the sound had come from Arya before he turned to face her, as did everyone else in the room.

On her forehead was that little wrinkle that always gave her emotions away. Her eyebrows were furrowed as she stared up at the screen with glassy eyes.

She shook her head in disbelief, and turned away, running for the main doors.

"Arya!" Gendry yelled after her as he slid off the bar stool and followed after her.

The cold outside was biting, and the shock of white nearly blinded him.

Arya was running across the parking lot, towards the highway. Gendry started running towards her, hoping she wouldn't try anything stupid.

There was very little traffic, and for that he was thankful.

Arya had stopped though. She was right infront of the motorway, staring out, but she was no longer running.

Gendry came up a few feet right behind her, his heavy breaths rising up in clouds.

"Arya." he said when he caught his breath.

She turned to face him, her face wet with tears, and more threatening to come out. She was biting her bottom lip, and shaking her head, and he felt his jaw tremble and his own eyes fill with tears.

What happened next, caught him so off guard he nearly fell from the impact.

Arya ran. She ran to him, her body crashing against his.

She let out the most heart wrenching sob, so full of pain and hopelessness.

"I've got you." Gendry whispered into her forehead as wrapped his arms around her quickly, feeling her slip from his grasp like water.

He pulled her up, holding on tighter, and she sobbed away against his chest, whispering no. No. No. Over, and over again.

"I've got you." he managed to whispered through the knot on his throat. Arya was a small thing, quite weightless.

But right now, she felt so heavy. And she was slipping.

"...I won't let go." he said through his teeth, marking every word. "I've got you."

Her small hands clenched to his shirt, and her knees gave up, and she began sinking down, nearly dragging him down with her.

He held her though. The muscles in his neck and arms corded from the effort.

He held her.

He fought for her.

She was not falling. He wouldn't allow it. Not without a fight.

In one swift move, he slipped an arm behind her knees and picked her up in his arms.

It was beginning to snow again. Lightly.

Someone yelled his name from the hotel, and he could see Tom and the rest walking towards them.

It was cold, and neither Arya or him had a jacket on. He had to get her out of the cold, he told himself as he turned and headed towards the hotel.

Lem ran up to him, meeting him halfway. "Give her to me!" he yelled, but Gendry just kept walking.

When he reached the hotel, Harwin and Tom quickly opened the front doors for him, and he walked right in and straight for the elevators.

Anguy ran past him and pressed the elevator button, quickly moving out of the way.

The doors slid open, Gendry stepped in, and Harwin after him.

The old man pressed their floor button and the doors began to close, giving Gendry a last look at Lem, Tom, and Anguy; their faces full of genuine concern.

Gendry fixed his eye on the elevator buttons, never looking down at Arya, though he could hear her, weeping softly now, occasionally sniffing.

The door opened at their floor, and Harwin followed Gendry out in silence, until they reached their room door, and he asked Gendry where his key was.

"Back pocket. " Gendry said.

Harwin pulled the key out and opened the room for them, walking in only to place the key on a small table.

"If you need anything. Let us know." he said to Gendry, and turned towards the door, closing it after himself.

Gendry walked to the bed, gently placing Arya down. Her hands still clasped to his shirt, so he carefully moved her aside so he could lay himself next to her.

He said her name out loud once, but she didn't open her eyes, and he didn't say another word.

He just listened. Listened for hours as he rubbed her arms and back gently.

To her sniffs and soft cries at first, and then to her slow, even breaths, which let him know she was asleep.

Her head was pillowed on his chest, and her hands still held on to his shirt, though not as tightly.

Gendry brushed her hair from her face.

Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks were streaked with tears.

He took in a deep breath, to calm himself.

He felt like crying, but he swallowed back the tears and closed his eyes. He had to keep it together. Arya needed him right now, and she needed him composed...

Soon, he was asleep too.

He didn't know how long they had slept for, but when he woke, it looked like it was morning. Again.

Arya was still asleep, and he slipped from under her to go to the toilet and change out of his jeans.

He walked around the bed to Arya and carefully unlaced, and pulled off her boots.

The movement made Arya stir, and her mouth parted, as she said something inaudible.

Gendry carefully laid himself on his side next to her, careful not to put too much weight on the bed, turning him body to face Arya.

She spoke again, this time he heard what she said.

"Jon." she said a third time.

Gendry reached across the bed and grabbed her hand, giving it a small squeeze.

Her eyelids flew open, and for the first time in the months he had known her, he saw right into her.

It was not the tough Arya staring back at him.

Not the brave little kick-ass who stood up to anyone.

Not the little fighter.

But a girl. A little girl that had lost her parents.

A little girl that looked so very lost herself.

"They died, right?"

Gendry could only nod.

"Yes." she whispered with a small nod, looking away from him.

Gendry's mind felt like it would explode, as he searched for the right words to say, but each time he thought of something, it stuck in his throat.

Nothing was enough. Each thing he thought of saying, sounded stupid, and the next, even more stupid.

"I saw my father. From across the party hall." she whispered. "I saw them take him. And I ran. I had taken my gun with me to the party, to make wearing a dress bearable." she

Gendry smiled.

"I followed them into a hall way, and pulled my gun out. I felt ready to do anything. Whatever was needed to help my father. Even kill."

She turned away from him, her body belly side up and her eyes to the ceiling.

"I heard them. Behind a door. I could hear them yelling at my father. And hitting him. I wanted to kill them. I would have. When I finally reached the bottom of the stairs and the end of the small corridor, I was behind them, and I was going to kill them. But Yoren stopped me, and pulled me away. To keep me safe, he later told me."

A tear rolled down her cheek.

"Then we heard a shot. I pushed Yoren aside and ran towards my father. He was on the floor. They had shot him."

Gendry squeezed her hand, feeling tears roll down his cheeks.

"They were about to kill me, but Yoren shot them. And I ran fell on my knees next to my father. He was still alive, but he couldn't speak. He tried... There was so much blood."

"Arya." Gendry whispered, bringing her to look at him.

"What's worse. To have someone you love die in your arms, or to know that they died alone? Cold, and alone... My mother died alone... Jon died alone."

He squeezed her hand again.

"I'm sorry Arya." he let out raspily, inching closer to her. She turned her body on its side, so that it was facing Gendry's.

"I'm sorry that you have to go through this... that there's people out there that get away with murder."

"They're all going to pay." Arya said in such a low, bitter voice that made a chill run down his spine.

It took him a seconds to compose himself from the chill, but he nodded. "We will find a way. Whatever Jaqen's plan is..."

"No." Arya cut him off as, as she sat up.

Gendry did the same.

"I don't care about Jaqen's plan anymore. If I hadn't been so stupid, we may have been at grandfather's... No... It's just my brothers and sister now. That's all the family I have left. We need to leave, Gendry. Now"

These words were exactly what he wanted to hear yesterday. There was something about the way she was saying them. The missing life in her eyes, that made him want to take a pause to think this over.

"Arya, wait." he grabbed her shoulders. " Just think about this..."

"No, there is nothing to think about, you said it yourself, we might not have another chance to leave." she pulled free of him and crawled off the bed, running for her coat.

"What about money. Our papers." Gendry said as he slowly slid off the bed and walked around it towards Arya.

"Who cares!" Arya cried out desperately.

"It's freezing outside. We won't last an hour if we walk. We need money. We need our papers. We can't just leave, just like that without money."

Arya turned to face Gendry, and he could tell she was beginning to see some sense.

"Then lets get them." she nodded at him, and walked up to her boots, picking them off the floor.

"And how do you intend we do that." he said as he roughly pulled the boots from her hands. "Stop!" he cried, as if to a child. "Just and think for a second!" he yelled.

She bit her bottom lip, and let her gaze fall.

Gendry sighed, licking his lip.

"We go downstairs. They're at the bar. They're always at the bar. We take the key. I come up to their room and take our stuff and make a run for it. Give me ten minutes before you leave outside. For air or something. We can meet..." she trailed off as she walked to the window and pulled the curtains back to take a look at their surroundings.

The window lead to the back of the hotel.

Ayra swept the area before she pointed to a small building a little less than a kilometer from the hotel.

"...There."

Gendry groaned. "The key. How are we suppose to..."

"Didn't you ever pick pocket as a child? I'll take the key, Harwin has it no doubt. And he always places it by his drink. You distract them while I come and get the stuff."

Gendry looked her face up and down for a moment. Her nose was still red from crying. She had just lost her mother. She should be mourning her still, not planning their escape.

He shook his head lightly. "Arya, you've lost so much, I don't think you're thinking straight. Yesterday you we're willing to trust Jaqen...you we're thrilled over his plan, putting all your trust in him, and you wouldn't even tell me! And now..."

Arya growled and turned away from him, stomping towards the bed. "You are impossible," she yelled turning to face him. "Why are you so stubborn?!"

"WHY ARE _YOU_!?"

Arya closed her eyes against his words, and Gendry instantly felt a shock of regret. He shouldn't have yelled at her. She just really got under his skin.

"I don't want to fight Gendry." she said calmly.

_Neither do I._

"Please. Just do this with me. I _need_ you."

Those last words really did it for him. He felt his heart twist in his chest.

_Damn you Arya Stark. Damn you for being such an amazingly persuasive pain in my ass._

He exhaled sharply, and he thought he saw what might have looked like a smile threatening the corners of her mouth.

"Where will we go?" he asked in defeat.

"Home. I will find that will. Clear my father's name. Make sure the Lannisters pay."

He raised an eyebrow. "Find the will? How?"

Arya sat on the bed, taking a small breath before speaking again. "The day they killed my father, he said something...I know he said it to _me_."

Gendry sat next to her. "What did he say?"

"He said, 'your birthday'"

Gendry looked away from her, thinking. "That's in... two days." he remembered.

He had decided he would wait until they returned to Sheffield to tell Arya about her gun, but when he found out about her birthday, he decided he'd give Brienne a call and if she had managed to find it, he would let Arya know for her birthday. It wasn't a real birthday gift. But It was all he could give to her for now. Especially since the guys had taken their money.

"Yes." Arya said. "I'm not sure what he meant by it, but he decided to say that to at that moment. He knew he would die. He knew I was listening. It was right when the men asked him about the will. It's not much I know, but it's all I have. It could maybe have something to do with the date, or maybe.."

"A password." Gendry cut in. Arya nodded.

"A safety deposit box. Or maybe an account. Something."

"I have a friend." Gendry's eyes widened. "Her roommate works at a bank."

"Can we trust her?" Arya asked.

"Yes. We can." he said as he stood from the bed and walked towards the phone.

"Are you sure?" Arya insisted behind him.

"More than we can trust Jaqen." Gendry said as he punched in the numbers on the phone.

Behind him, he heard Arya scoff.

It took four rings, but finally, Brienne answered on the other side.

"Brienne!"

_"Gendry."_ she said.

"Brienne, how are you?"

_"Good."_

"I'm glad."

_"You?"_

"I'm alive, so I'm doing rather well."

_"I'm glad you are."_

"Where you able to find it?" Gendry looked over his shoulder and saw that Arya was still there.

_"Yes. It's with me. Safe."_ Brienne said to him.

"Thank you so much Brienne. If I make it out of this... beers are on me, for, like... forever."

Brienne let out a small weak laugh. _"It's fine. That's what friends are for._"

"Yes. And you've done so much already, but...I need to ask you for another favor. Your roommate..."

"_Renly?_" Brienne asked warily.

"Yes. Does he still work at the bank."

Brienne hesitated. _"Yes." _

"I need you to see it he can find out some information for me. About an account, or a safe deposit box. Under Robert Baratheon, or Eddard Stark. Maybe Catelyn Stark. Anything Stark or Baratheon, really. I have a number."

He put his hand over the speaker and turned to Arya. "What year were you born?"

"95"

Gendry spoke into the phone again." Brienne? Yes, It's 08121995."

_"08121995?"_ Brienne repeated.

"Yes. I know how this sounds, but trust me, I'm trying to clear Ned's name. You need to trust me Brienne. This could very easily mean my life."

_"I trust you."_ Brienne answered. _"I'll talk to him, see how much he can do._"

"I'll call you tonight. See how much he was able to do. I'm on my way home. Depending on the weather, I expect to be home in a few days."

_"Gendry..."_

"Thank you so much Brienne. I really owe you one."

_"Don't mention it."_

"Brienne...take care of yourself." Gendry spoke softly. He was really putting her in a lot more danger than she knew.

_"You too Gendry."_

"I love you, mate."

_"I love you too. Please. Be careful."_

"You too. I'll talk to you soon Brienne."

_"Bye."_

He hung up and turned to Arya. Her eyebrows were raised.

"She's _jus_t a friend?" she asked.

"Yes. _Just _a friend." Gendry said, holding back a smile. _Was that a hint of jealousy_?

He grabbed his jeans and boots and headed for the bathroom, closing the door after himself.

His mind went over their plan, searching for anything they may have over looked. Any place they may fail at.

He changed into his jeans and fed his feet in his boots, combing a bit of water into his hair, and splashing a bit on his face.

In the mirror, the blue eyed guy staring back at him was older. Tired. His hair longer, his beard beginning to grow.

Arya had slipped into her shoes, and was waiting for him by the door when he walked out.

They walked down the corridor in silence.

_She's nervous._

"Remember. Give it 10 minutes. from the moment I leave, before you head out. Say its for some air, a walk, anything." she said as they stood in the elevator, watching the digital number descend.

"Alright." Gendry said, trusting she would have enough time. Arya was a smart girl. She was quick. She could do it.

"You don't have to do this, you know." she said in a small voice, keeping her eyes on the elevator doors.

"You really want to bring that up again?" he asked glanced over to her out of the corner of his eye.

She simply shook her head.

Gendry sighed, "I do this, because I _want_ to. You're right when you say I don't have to, because I don't. But I want to... Is that enough?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but the elevator doors opened and she walked out instead.

Gendry sighed. "Here we go." he said, as he followed her out and into the lobby.

xxxxxxxxxx

"Don't mention it." Brienne said into her phone.

_"Brienne...take care of yourself." _

"You too Gendry."

_"I love you, mate."_

Brienne closed her eyes at his words. "I love you too... Please...Be careful."

_"You too. I'll talk to you soon Brienne."_

"Bye." she said, and the call ended.

"How _very_ touching!" Jaime said as he held his hand out for her to toss him the phone.

She did, her eyes never looking away from the gun pointed at Renly head.

"This couldn't be more perfect." Jaime said with a smile, keeping his distance from Brienne.

She closed her eyes agaisnt the tears. _I'm sorry Gendry._

**AN**

**Thanks so much for all your reviews, as usual. You're all my fuel, filling my inbox with lovely cupcakes. **

**Short chapter, but I do want to know what all of you think? About Jaime. About Arya and Gendry? Everything?**

**I love you all, and i promise the next chapter will be a long one. **

**I have a new trailer for this story, check it out, the link is on my profile. Please watch and tell me what you think. Leave me a comment on youtube, or here :)**


	20. Chapter 20

Harwin was sitting at the lobby bar with a beer bottle in his hand, and Lem next to him with a bottle of his own, saying something in Catalan, which was the language that came naturally to Harwin.

Anguy was at the end of the room fidgeting with the buttons of an ancient looking cigarette machine.

"Que pedazo de maquina!" he cursed, kicking the machine.

"Eh tu! Para eso!' the blonde bartender yelled from behind the bar, and Anguy gave it one last kick.

"Me debes un paquete de cigarillos." he told the man as he walked towards his place next to Lem.

At the sight of Arya and Gendry though, he froze.

"Hi." he told Arya, his eyes watching her carefully. Lem and Harwin turned to face them at that.

"Hi." Arya and Gendry both said at the same time.

"Hello." Harwin said to them with a small smile.

Tom was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Tom?" Arya asked as if reading his thoughts.

"Not feeling well. He's resting."

Gendry shot Arya a side glance. There was no way their plan would work. Not with Tom upstairs.

Arya looked away from him quickly, but she knew exactly what he was trying to communicate to her. He could tell from her eyes. She always glanced at the floor for a small moment after reading his eyes, which always meant something...

Right now, what her expression was telling Gendry, was that she was going through with the plan, no matter what.

"I'm not feeling too well either." she said weakly, turning to Gendry. "I should have listened to you and stayed in the room." she said to him with her mouth. But her eyes said, _Do as we planned... 10 minutes._

"Feel better!" Anguy called after her, and sat next to Lem.

"How is she?" Harwin asked Gendry.

"Better than one would expect." Gendry answered, and eyed the clock on the wall behind the bar before sitting next to Harwin.

Ten minutes. He had to leave in ten minutes. The men talked amongst themselves a while. Gendry paid them no mind, until Harwin turned to him.

"We're behind schedule. Jaqen phoned as soon as he found out, and asked us to give the girl the time she needed to mourn, but he wanted us to be on a plane as soon as she was able."

"Airlines are working again?" Gendry asked.

"Apparently. There's a small window. Two weeks, the forecast stated. But there is another much heavier storm expected."

"Like day after tomorrow shit." Anguy said leaning forward on the bar so that he could see Gendry.

"Don't be stupid." Lem said, tugging the collar of his jumper, so he would sit up.

Gendry smiled. Anguy seemed to get under Lem's skin, yet they were always together.

His eyes trailed to the clock. Six minutes had already passed.

Unbelievable!

Harwin was talking at his side, and Gendry was pretending to listen, but his eyes kept on glancing over a to the clock, until ten minutes passed.

He swallowed the knot in his throat and slid off the stool.

"I think I need some air." he said, trying to sound the most casual he could.

Harwin nodded once, and turned to his drink, tipping the bottle to take a sip.

Gendry turned for the door, but then the bartender whistled.

He turned, feeling his insides drop.

"For the cold." he said, tossing him a pack of cigarettes.

Gendry caught them.

Lem chortled at Anguy's dropped jaw and Gendry smiled wickedly at the red head before turning for the door.

The air outside was completely still and freezing.

Gendry quickly put his hands in his pocket, a shudder traveling down his body. This was insane. There was no way they would last out here more than an hour.

He had no jacket, and he was already beginning to feel his ears freeze, as well as his toes.

These were not snow boots, and he only had on a pair of socks.

The snow crunched pleasantly underfoot, and under different circumstances, a sight like the one before him was one to stop and gawk at.

He wasn't sure how far they were from Madrid, but this place was deserted, yet beautiful in all it's loneliness.

Gendry quickened his pace, glancing back at the hotel, to make sure no one saw him, and soon he was at the small building Arya had pointed at through the window.

It was a mechanic's shop, and it was closed.

Gendry exhaled sharply, his breath steaming up thickly.

He could see the tip of his nose already turning a bright red.

"Damn it Arya." he whispered, as he clumsily walked around the building, to hide himself from the hotel.

The walk alone had taken him about four minutes. She should have been here by now.

Gendry shuddered again, and his teeth began to chatter.

If something had gone wrong... if she got caught... and he was all the way out here, freezing to death, instead of with her.

This had been such a bad idea.

_No. _

_No. She could do this. _

He growled at both the cold and out of frustration. "Come on Arya!" he yelled.

Then a hand grabbed his arm and spun him.

"Shit!" he yelled, but then he saw it was Arya.

She held out his jacket and he took it gratefully, slipping into it quickly.

She had hers on. As well as her scarf and glove set, their bag hanging from her shoulder, which she began to unzip.

"I didn't find our money." she said as she pulled out his scarf, gloves and hat. She sounded upset at herself.

"None of it?" he asked, taking the scarf first and wrapping it around his neck several times. He took the hat next, slipping it over his head so it covered his numb ears.

Arya shook her head, holding open a glove for him to slip his hand in. "I looked through all their stuff. The only money I was able to find was the one inside of Tom's wallet. It's not a lot, but we can steal some later if we need to."

"How did you you deal with Tom?" he asked, taking the second glove from her. He was already beginning to thaw.

"I killed him." she let out coldly.

"What!" Gendry choked out panicked.

Arya merely rolled her eyes at him. "I'm kidding. I knocked him out."

"How?" Gendry asked skeptically.

"I knocked on the door, said I didn't want to be alone and that you were downstairs. He let me in and as soon as he closed the door, I slammed an ashtray against his head.

"And that knocked him out?"

"I _am_ strong Gendry!"

He nodded, " You are, but an ashtray hit in the head won't keep him down for long."

"Then we should start moving." she said, turning towards the road, walking opposite of the direction of the hotel.

"Arya, I don't... this is a bad idea. We're in the middle of nowhere. I hadn't noticed when we arrived from all the snow falling..It's very cold." he said stupidly.

"You have your jacket." she called back at him.

Gendry reached for her arm and spun her so she faced him. "You should..." he mumbled out as he zipped her jacket all the way up and tugged down at her hat so that her ears were covered by it.

Her eyes were on his face the entire time. When he looked into them, he felt a small warmth inside of him.

"Thanks." she whispered.

He smiled, and his eyes trailed to her lips. For a split second, something coiled inside his stomach, and he wanted to kiss her.

"Look!" she shrieked as she pointed behind him.

He turned, half expecting Lem and the rest. But it was only a blue car, driving towards them.

Arya began to wave her gloved hands in the air, jumping up and down.

Then she smacked Gendry on the shoulder.

"Wave, stupid!" she cried, and he began to wave until he was sure the driver had seen them.

The car pulled over ahead of them, and they both ran to the rolled down passenger window. It was a couple in their 40's.

"Estais chalados?" the man cried out in Spanish. "Esta helando afuera. Muchos hombres han muerto en tormentas como estas. Hacia donde os dirigis?" the woman asked them.

"Madrid." Arya answered them, and the man nodded once, unlocking the back door.

"Montaos!" he told them.

_She did it! She actually, freaking did it_, Gendry thought with a slime as he slipped into the car next to Arya, closing the door behind him.

The car moved forward, and Gendry glanced back, one last time, watching as the hotel shrunk as they moved forward.

He turned to Arya, still smiling. "You did it." he shook his head in awe. "You actually did it."

She elbowed him playfully. "We did it."

xxxxxxxxxx

Renly had been preparing breakfast for them both when they'd heard the knock at the door.

Knowing Jaime, Renly didn't hesitate to ask him inside, but as soon as the front door was closed, Jaime pulled out a gun and hit Renly across the face, knocking him to the floor.

Brienne was on her feet and about to run towards Jaime when he cocked his gun and pointed it at Renly.

"I'd stay put if I were you!" Jaime said to her, and she froze where she stood.

Brienne was strong, but Jaime was all the way on the other side of the room. Her gun was in her closet, and her mobile on the coffee table that sat between her and Jaime.

He pulled out two pairs of handcuffs from his jacket pocket and tossed a pair at Brienne, while he cuffed Renly to the nearby radiator in one quick move.

"What do you want from us?" she demanded. He was the same man that had called and laughed at her back at the station a few days ago.

"Brienne, is it? Cuff yourself. And sit on the floor by the table." Jaime smiled, eying her up and down. She did as he said, cuffing her wrist and tugging at the cuffs to show him they were properly placed

"Gendry Waters." Jaime said to her. "That's why I'm here."

Brienne claimed ignorance to Gendry's whereabouts at first, but that all went to waste when her mobile began to ring and the screen read "Gendry"

Jaime laughed at the sight of it. "This is too perfect."

He picked the phone up and tossed it at Brienne. She caught it between cuffed hands.

"Be credible please. And put it on speaker. For Renly's sake." Jaime told her as he dug the gun into Renly's head.

Brienne answered the phone with nervous fingers, searching quickly for the speaker.

The entire time she spoke to Gendry, her eyes were on Renly. His lips was bleeding from where Jaime hit him, and he looked terrified.

_Blood always made him nervous. _

Gendry sounded so happy to hear her and it made it twice as hard to do this, but she kept telling herself this was all for Renly. She would deal with Jaime when he least expected it. For now, she had to make sure Ren wasn't hurt.

"How touching!" Jaime said as soon as she'd ended the call.

"What do you want with Gendry?" Brienne demanded.

Jaime ignored her, keeping the gun pointed at Renly as he slipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out his mobile.

Brienne shook her head. "I won't allow you to hurt him."

Jaime rolled his eyes and turned to kick Renly in the stomach.

Brienne began to rise on instinct, ready to lunge herself at Jaime, but then he stabbed the barrel into Renly' temple and she stopped herself.

Renly was coiled on the floor coughing.

"Leave him alone!" she spat out.

"What did you do about that? Nothing. What will you do about Gendry... nothing."

"I'm going to kill you." she breathed out furiously.

"Enough. I'm sick of your voice. Stay still and quiet while I make this call." he pressed his thunb into his mobile once before putting the phone against his ear, quietly shushing her. "For Renly." he repeated her earlier thoughts.

Brienne was just waiting. For his hand to tire. For a second of distraction. Anything that gave her a chance to attack. But he kept his arm firm. His eyes on her.

And he was so far. All the way across the living room.

"Cersei." Jaime spoke into the phone.

"No!" Renly gasped out from the floor, turning so he could look at Jaime. "No, it can't be."

Jaime shot a quick glance at Rneny before turning his eyes to Brienne again.

"I found the boy...I need you to meet me. Renly's apartment...I'll explain everything here. Bye."

"It was you." Renly sat up awkwardly against the radiator. "Robert. It was you. You and that bitch." There was tears rolling down his eyes.

"Don't call her that." Jaime said, suddenly serious. "You don't hear me calling your wench names, now do you?" he turned to face her at that.

"My name, is Brienne, you asshole." she told him.

Jaime walked up to the sofa closest to him and sat on it's arm, facing both Brienne and Renly.

"My name, is Jaime, you wench. Now please stop talking, you're giving me a head ache. We have a long day ahead of us. We need to wait for this Gendry to call back. Then this will all be over."

"You mean, then you will kill us." Renly said in a small voice, but neither Jaime or Brienne turned to face him.

"No harm will come over you if you do as you're told. You have my word, and trust me... I'm a man of my word."

Brienne didn't buy this. He knew too well that she would do anything to stop him from hurting Gendry. She had told him so herself.

"Your word means nothing to me." she said, spitting out to her left.

"Ahggh! What a charming beauty!" Jaime remarked sarcastically.

_It really is going to be a long day._

xxxxxxxxxx

All the Stark/Baratheon hullaballoo had started to die down at Scotland Yard as the days had passed, leaving only a few agents actively working on the missing Stark children cases.

However, it all resurfaced when Catelyn Stark appeared dead in her Sheffield home.

All the noise, and the crowded halls were giving him a head ache.

He was about to slip out of the cubicle he was using and into his office for a break, when he saw his assistant walking around the people in the halls, towards him.

"Home office on line 5." the beady eyed man told him. "And I need your signature on these Fraud Complaints and this letter for Inspector Williams." he said holding out the papers.

He sat on the chair again and took a pen off the desk, signing the papers.

"I'll take the call in my office." he told the dark skinned man as he stood to walk to his office.

"There you are!" he heard from behind him, and turned to see the green eyed brunnette holding a coffee in one hand and a flash drive on the other.

"Come, come. You have to see this." she said, forcing him into the cubicle once again.

He sat on the desk, as she leaned over him to insert the drive in the computer. He got a whiff of her hair before she pulled it to the other side of her head. It smelled like vanilla.

"They finally rigged the defective bug placed on the security system at Cutler's Hall. We we're able to salvage a few frames. My team is still working on getting the complete footage of that night." she took a sip of her coffee as she waited for the file to open.

"Did you find out who tapped into the system?"

She shook her head. "On it."

The first window opened and it was a frame of the main party hall used that night by the Baratheons. In the shot, half of the hall had emptied out, and only a few men remained by the stage over what appeared to be Robert Baratheon's body. Also a woman in purple was clearly seen running into a door at the far left of the room.

He tapped his finger on the screen twice, over the door the woman seemed to be running towards.

"That goes to a hallway that leads to the door to the basement, where Baratheon's men found and shot Eddard Stark."

"The girl..."

"Is Arya Stark. Everyone said she had been wearing a purple dress, and no one saw her after the incident. Police were at the scene in minutes. No one saw her leave the building, at least not through the front. Now we know why."

"And that hallway leads to where Ned was found?"

The brunette nodded.

"What other shots do you have?"

"Two more." she said closing the window of the first. The second frame was from a camera at the corridor outside the main hall. There was several blurred out people in the frame, but almost everyone seemed identifiable. His eyes went straight to the Stark boy, in the arms of a uniformed woman.

"That's Rickon Stark." he said, recognizing him from the photos.

"Yes. We're lucky enough to get a shot of both him and the woman he's with. She's wearing a server uniform." she told him, as she pulled up the last frame, which had been zoomed into the server's face.

His eyes were glued on the last frame.

"Inspector Mormont." a man called, and they both turned from the computer.

It was his assistant again. "You have the Home Office on hold."

"I'll be just a second." he said as he pulled the flash drive from the computer and rose from the chair, grabbing the brunette's face in his hands. He was so excited, he could kiss her. "Who else knows about this Dany?"

The girl seemed taken aback. "Just my team, and you."

He nodded once. "Let's keep it that way. For now." he said as he headed towards his office.

"What?" she called after him, but he ignored her, heading straight into his office.

He picked up the phone, pressing a button on the receiver. "Yes?" he said looking up as Dany walked into the office and closed the door after her.

"Sir, I need to call you back." he said, setting the phone back in it's place.

"Why do you need to keep this _between us_? We have been waiting for this for..."

"Dany." he cut her off.

"Jorah!" she cried out.

She was clearly angry. She had so much fire in her, and very little control over, ever since her husband had passed.

"You know I have to report what I've found." she said.

"Then why did you come to me?" he asked.

"I trust you. You're my friend. You're working on the Stark boy's case. But..."

"Then trust me. GIve me just a day. One day. That's all I ask."

"A day for what?"

"Trust me." he begged her, and he could see her beginning to give in.

"One day." she said, and turned furiously for the door.

"Thank you Daenerys." he said as she slammed the door behind her.

He crossed back to his desk with a smile and inserted the flash drive into his computer. He pulled out his mobile from his desk drawer and began punching numbers as he opened the files on the usb drive and attached them onto an e mail he was composing.

The line rang twice, before someone answered.

_"Yes?"_

"Margaery? I'm sending you an e mail. Check it, then delete it, and get back to me."

_"Alright."_

"Thanks." he said, and he send the email.

xxxxxxxxxx

Cersei was looking over the numbers Jaime had copied from the call with Gendry.

"Do they mean anything to you?" he asked her.

His twin simply shook her head, turning to Brienne. "At what time is the boy suppose to call you."

The wench didn't even bother looking up at Cersei. "He didn't specify a time." she replied in her deep voice.

Cersei was beginning to grow restless. They had been there all most of the day.

"He might not call at all." Brienne taunted. "He may call until tomorrow. Or perhaps the day after."

"Oh shut her up Jaime." Cersei said, rubbing at her temples and shifting her weight on the sofa, reaching into her jean pocket for her cigarette case and lighter.

Cersei never wore jeans. She rarely wore pants.

She was worrying too much, and it was beginning to show. She was getting sloppy about this entire situation, even her looks.

Jaime could see Renly about to oppose to her smoking, but then re think it.

The minutes dragged on, and no one said a word. They all just sat still. His eyes remained on the wench, but he was growing tired. Tired of her features. Tired of her face. Tired of this small apartment, and this entire situation.

When Cersei had first arrived, she had reprimanded Jaime for not cuffing Brienne to something, but judging from her size and the fact that she was a police officer, he didn't think going anywhere near her was smart, and he had advised Cersei against it when she suggested re cuffing her. So for that reason, he had to keep his eyes on her.

"I need water." Renly broke the silence. But he ignored him.

"Sister dearest." Renly said sourly to Cersei. "Some water for your favorite brother in law." he mocked her.

"Oh, why won't that fucking phone ring already!" she cried, jabbing her cigarette on the surface of the coffee table and cupping her face in her hands.

As if summoned, Brienne's mobile began to ring.

Cersei rose off the couch and took it, tossing it quickly at Brienne. "Remember, Royal Inn, across Victoria Park. Ask him when he can meet you there." she told Brienne.

Brienne answered, putting the phone on speaker. And she did exactly what she was asked to.

Jaime could tell this was difficult for her. There was tears of anger on her eyes as she spoke the words, but her voice never betrayed her true feelings.

When she was done, she ended the call, and threw the phone away from her as if it were some vile thing.

"It's done. Now let us go." she pleaded.

There was something in her voice though. Like if she wasn't expecting to be released. Like she had lost hope.

Cersei picked up the mobile off the floor and turned to face Jaime with a laugh. "You told them we'd let them go?" she asked dryly as she took the gun from his hand and pointed it at Renly head.

Two shots rang in the air, then Brienne's piercing cry.

Cersei's hand moved to point the gun at Brienne.

Jaime reacted a second too late, pushing the gun to try and stray the shot, but he failed.

A shot rang, and Brienne fell back with a groan.

Jaime took his sister by the shoulders shaking her. "What is wrong with you? Bodies are dropping dead everywhere, all around us! You're getting sloppy. What are you thinking?!"

Cersei opened her mouth to speak, but they heard a groan and turned to see Brienne to turning on the floor with a groan. Blood was beginning to pool around her shoulder, which she held her hand against.

"She's alive." Jaime said furiously.

"Renly." Brienne sobbed out, as she looked over the dead body slumping against the radiator. "No! No! Renly!" she wailed out as she tried to sit, before falling back on the floor.

Jaime turned to look into his twin's eyes. There was nothing of the woman he knew in them.

She placed the gun back in his hand. "Clean this mess. Take care of her. I'll see you at home."

And with that she turned for the door and left.

Jaime turned to Brienne, who was weeping on the floor, calling out for Renly. Over and over again.

"He's dead." Jaime told her.

"She leaves you to do all her dirty work." the wench breathed out. "You're her little bitch."

"Shut the fuck up, you wench." he yelled, walking up to her and turning her with his foot, so that she was facing him.

"Kill. Me. Now." she said softly.

Jaime wanted to.

And he didn't. He wasn't sure what part of him wanted to kill Brienne. Perhaps the part that wanted to make Cersei happy.

And the part that didn't want to was a part unknown to him.

Suddenly there was someone knocking on the door.

_"Brienne, dear? Renly? I heard gun shots. Are you two alright?_" it was an old lady voice, probably a neighbor.

"You leave her alone." Brienne snapped at him.

_"I've called the police."_ the woman called. "_Renly?"_

Jaime cocked the gun, swallowing down all emotions. "I'm sorry. You can't be alive when the police get here." he told Brienne. "I'm sorry." he repeated, meaning every word.

From a distance, he could already hear the sirens. He pointed the gun at her head about to shoot, but then she slammed her cuffed hands against his legs, knocking him to the ground.

He fell on his side, the gun slipping from his hands.

He was about to reach for it, but Brienne rolled over him and put her bloody hands around his neck, choking him.

"I could kill you." she said with teary eyes.

"Why... don't ... you?" Jaime managed to choke out. He could feel the blood swelling his face.

"What does she want with Gendry?" she asked him.

"To... kill ... him." Jaime breathed out, barely audible.

Brienne loosened the grasp, and he began to cough as he gasped for air. She grabbed his head in her large hands, taking a firm grip of it. The room filled with blue and red light, and the police sirens were right outside the window.

"You have an appointment." she said, as a tear fell from her eye and onto his cheek.

His brows furrowed in confusion, and she leaned in to press her lips against his ear. "The Royal Inn." she said sinisterly, and she lifted his head, slamming it on the floor. And it all went black.

xxxxxxxxx

"We're meeting Brienne and her roommate in London in two days." he told Arya, as hung up the phone and walked to their bag which sat on the dresser of their motel room.

The couple that picked them up was headed for Trujillo, but they dropped them off at a small motel off the main road. They were about a two hour drive from Madrid.

"So he can help us?" Arya asked.

"Yes." Gendry said as he rummaged through their bag, pulling out his pajamas.

Arya had wrapped a pair of guns in his shirt. Harwin and Lem's guns.

"Careful." she called as she pulled a boot off. "There's guns in there."

"Of course there is." Gendry said, not sounding the least bit surprised.

She began moving her toes inside her socks, enjoying the feel of them outside of the boots.

Her feet hurt.

Her whole body hurt.

She was tired. She never thought she'd be this tired at sixteen.

_Seventeen, _she corrected herself. She would be seventeen in less than a day.

Suddenly, she felt the heaviness of a stare on her, and when Arya looked up at Gendry, he was, in fact, staring at her.

He gave her a small smile. "How are you?" he asked.

Arya didn't have to ask what he meant by it.

"It comes and goes." she admitted, loving the feel of being able to say exactly what she was feeling. Gendry made it easy.

It was something she had only had once before, with Jon.

But even that was different. She had only been ten the last time she had seen him, and she didn't remember having any dark confessions at the age of ten. Mostly just complaints about Sansa, or Bran, or kids at college.

"When I'm doing something, it's almost not there. Just like a small pebble in my shoe. I can almost ignore it..."

"Don't" Gendry snapped at her.

Arya creased her brows, "But... when I'm not doing something, it comes back. Everything. All the images... and memories, and the pain." she let herself fall back on the bed with a sigh, feeling all the tension in her muscles begin to dissolve. "I'm so scared." she confessed to Gendry, who had crossed the room and sat on the bed next to her.

"It feels as if all of my family is slipping through my fingers, and I'm so scared for Robb, Sansa and Bran. And now Rickon... I can see them all. In my head, and they're hurt..."

"Hey." Gendry began to rub her arm softly. "We'll be in London in two days. We'll fix this. We'll get your family together again." he said.

Arya nodded. They would. She knew it.

_The Lannisters will pay._

Gendry rose off the bed and walked into the small bathroom to change.

Arya stared at the bathroom door.

He was saying "we".

It sounded nice. We.

She owed him so much already. He had been there for her when she felt the ground beneath her disappear. When she felt it would swallow her up into darkness, he had been there, fighting the battle with her.

Her eyes followed him as he stepped out of the bathroom and walked to the bed.

She slid to one side, making room for him, and he laid next to her.

For the first time since this nightmare had began, she knew exactly where she was headed, what the plan was.

And that was all thanks to Gendry.

She was staring up at his face. His dark hair. His thick brows, and his lips...

When she moved to his eyes, they were on her. She looked into the blue of them for a long moment, feeling something stir within her. There was over a foot between them, but it felt like more.

His brows twitched in what looked like confusion, and she felt her face heat as she realized she was staring, and he had caught her.

She rose off the bed quickly. Sitting with her back to him.

What was happening to her? Why was she being so stupid! It's Gendry. It's just Gendry.

Behind her, she could feel the mattress move as he too sat up.

She turned, about to say something, when he took her face in his hands and she felt his lips press against hers.

It was like lightning. In fact, her insides felt like lighting was traveling all through them.

And just like that it was over, as he pulled away, just a fraction, his eyes searching her face for a reaction.

Arya had no idea exactly was he saw, but she felt shocked. She must have looked like an idiot, eyes wide, mouth dropped, face, no doubt twisted in fear.

He blinked, slightly shaking his head. "i'm sorry" he muttered out.

Arya shook her head. He had misunderstood her reaction. Who wouldn't?

She wanted to tell him it was ok. That he shouldn't be sorry. That he could kiss her all she wanted. That in this whole dark mess. In this hole her life was becoming, she was thankful she had him.

She wanted to tell him all this, but no words came. Her tongue was like lead, and when she parted her lips to speak, no sound came.

He was already beginning to rise from the bed, clearly upset.

Arya gulped down hard, trying to make the words come.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that." he said, walking towards the bathroom. "I need a shower." he said.

"Gendry." Arya managed to stutter out. _Finally!_

He turned from the door, and he looked so... angry, that it turned her mouth dry.

"Don't open the door for anyone." he said, slipping into the bathroom.

Arya slapped her hands over her face. rubbing hard at her eyes. She felt the tears coming, but she pushed them back.

She didn't need this. Her family was in trouble, and she was here, allowing some boy to mess with her already messed up mind.

She layed back on the bed, trying to sort out her thought until she decided she would deal with her Gendry feelings after all of this was over.

Gendry took longer than usual in the shower, and Arya was beginning to grow hungry.

She realized, they hadn't eaten anything all day.

She rolled jumped off the bed and walked to the bathroom door, knocking softly at the door. "Gendry?"

_"Yea?"_

"I'm hungry and I saw a vending machine at the end of the parking lot."

_"Arya, wait for me, I'm almost done. You can't go out there alone."_

"Wait for what, you cant walk outside. You just showered, you'll catch pneumonia."

_"Arya, just wait."_

He sounded annoyed.

"You want some Crispy Crunchy?"

_"Damn it Arya!"_

"Ok, I'll bring you some Crispy Crunchy." she said.

_"Arya!" _he yelled, but she had already grabbed a bill from the bag and was walking towards the door.

After everything they'd been through, he still worried like this about her. She shook her head.

The cold outside felt great against her warm face, and the bluish glow of the lights outside each motel room made Arya remember a trip they all took once, back when Jon was still alive and living with them.

She couldn't remember where they were, or exactly how old she was. Only that it was raining and that they snuck out at night, Robb, Jon, Sansa and her, and had run down along the rooms, knocking on every door, giggling the whole way.

Sansa had tripped, and Jon had picked her up over her shoulder in order for them to make a run for it.

They had gotten in so much trouble for that.

That motel had had lights just like these.

Arya smiled at the memory.

She missed Robb and Sansa so much.

The vending machine had very few items, and no Crispy Crunchy bars.

Arya slipped the bill in, looking over her options.

She was about to press the buttons for a guava juice, when a hand circled her arm and spun her around, pushing her against the vending machine.

"You have no idea how long i've been following you." Sandor rasped out as he held her firmly in place.

"You!" Arya gasped out in shock and genuine horror. "Let go!" she yelled before he slapped a hand over her mouth.

"Shut up, you fucking bitch." he whispered through clenched teeth. "I'm not going to hurt..."

Suddenly he fell forward, and Arya saw Gendry was behind him, wet hair plastered on his wet face, with a large loose chunk of parking stop in his hand.

He slammed it into Sandor's head again, before he could recover, and again.

The large man slipped against the vending machine down to the floor, and Gendry pulled Arya from under him before she was dragged down as well.

"I thought I told you to wait!" he let out angrily.

**AN**

**Translation:**

**Anguy: Que pedazo de maquina! = Stupid machine!**

**Bartender: Eh tu! Para eso! = Hey, stop that! **

**Anguy: Me debes un paquete de cigarillos. = you owe me a pack of cigarettes. **

**Driving man: Estais chalados? = are you two crazy?**

**Woman: Esta helando afuera. Muchos hombres han muerto en tormentas como estas. Hacia donde os dirigis? = It's freezing out. Many men have died in storms like this one. Where are you headed to?**

**Man: Montaos! = Hop on **

**SO **

**this wasn't as long as i wanted it to be, but i plan to update again this week. **

**We have two new character appearances. Jorah and Daenerys.**

**And they're detectives. **

**Let me know what you think. **

**Also, the kiss finally. Not a passionate one, I know, but i think Gendry was being careful, so I settled for a soft peck**

**This is chapter 20, so i hope we can make the 200 review mark. We're so close, and I want to thank you all for being so wonderful.**

**Leave me a review, tell me what you think!**


	21. Chapter 21

It took Arya a moment to catch her breath, the shock of seeing Sandor still buzzing through her veins. Besides Gendry, he was the only connection she had to what she once considered home. Like a link to a place that no longer existed. At least not in her heart. She realized at that moment, as she stared at Sandor's still body on the cement floor, that no matter what happened next, how good or how bad things turned out for them, Sheffield would never _really_ be home again.

"Is he dead?" she asked turning to Gendry, who was eyeing their surroundings warily.

"No. He's still breathing."

"We're gonna need to get out of here. He said he's been following me. He works for the Lannisters. He's Joffrey's man."

Gendry shook his head. "We need to get him inside." he said, pushing her aside and bending over Sandor's body to take his arms. "Grab his legs."

"Are you serious? He's large. It's a long walk to our room. Did you not hear me, he's a Lannister man."

Gendry tossed Sandor's arms back on the floor and stomped over to Arya. "We have no money left, it's freezing out, and he's a Lannister man, like you said. We may get some information from him." he turned towards the body again, once again grabbing the arms.

Arya grunted, but walked around the tall man, grabbing his legs by the ankles. "If someone sees..."

"Parking lot's empty. We're the only one's here beside the manager guy." Gendry interrupted as he lifted up the body by the arms.

Arya lifted the legs up with all her force, but the body still dragged by it's ass.

Gendry pulled either way, his eyes darting every where for signs of men, cars... anything.

"He told me he's been following us a long time." Arya said.

"I heard." Gendry grunted out from the effort, dropping the body to rest.

They'd only travelled a couple of meters.

"Shit." Gendry sighed out. Arya could see his hair was beginning to stiffen with thin icicles.

"Gendry, your hair! You need to get inside now." she commanded him. "You're barefoot! You'll get sick."

"What I need to do is get him inside. Come over on my side." he told her with a hint of annoyance.

She did, and they each grabbed an arm, dragging him along the sidewalk.

They did move faster that way.

"I told you to wait." Gendry whispered out to her.

"So this is my fault now?" Arya asked, putting all her anger and frustration into pulling. They were halfway there.

"I'm not arguing with you."

Arya rolled her eyes, tugging hard at the body.

As they slipped inside the room, Gendry told Arya to grab one of the chairs from under the small table in the corner of their room

They managed to sit the unconscious Sandor on it.

Gendry grabbed the sheets off the bed while Arya went through Sandor's pockets, taking everything out.

She found a knife, which she tossed to Gendry so he could tear the sheets with. There was also his wallet, a gun, a gun magazine, a lighter, a mobile phone, a liquor flask and a folded sheet of paper with random numbers an addresses written in a messy hand.

Gendry made several strips out of the blankets and with those, they both began to tie Sandor.

Arya dropped to her knees and began to work on the legs while Gendry grabbed a long strip and walked around the chair to begin on the wrists.

But then, out of nowhere, Sandor kicked Arya on the chest, sending her flying into the side of the bed while he grabbed Gendry by the neck, almost fully encircling it with one hand.

In one quick move, he brought Gendry into a headbutt, bringing a pained grunt from his lips.

The kick had knocked the wind out of Arya, but she rose to her feet quickly and scurried towards the night table, grabbing Sandor's gun.

"Drop... him!" she breathed, pointing the gun at the large man's head.

She stole a quick glance at Gendry. Blood was seeping out of his stitches, and his face and the white of his eyes were bright red.

"Now!" she yelled, regaining her voice, and Sandor released his grasp, letting Gendry fall to the floor, gasping and coughing for air as he crawled away from him.

Sandor smiled up at her sinisterly. "You're gonna hurt yourself with that." he said, looking at his gun.

Arya ignored him and turned to Gendry. "Gendry."

He was beginning to stand. "I'm fine." he coughed out, stumbling to take a stand besides her.

"Hold the gun while I tie him up." she told him, but he shook his head stubbornly. "I'll tie him." he mubbled out thickly as he picked up the strips off the floor and walked around the chair, beginning to work on Sandor's hands.

"How long have you been following us? How much do the Lannisters know about where I am?"

"The Lannisters didn't send me here. I'm here because of your sister." Sandor spat out.

"Sansa." Arya muttered out nervously.

Gendry noticed, for he looked over to her.

"What about my sister? Is she hurt?What did you do to her, you dog!"

Sandor tugged at the ties in his hands violently. "I'll tell you if you untie me." he barked out furiously.

"No, you tell me now." Arya snapped.

Sandor let his weight fall back on the chair with a sigh, closing his eyes for a moment before looking up into Arya's. "I left the Lannisters. Before I left I offered your sister protection. I would take her to your mother. Keep her safe..." he trailed off, gulping hard, before speaking again. "She denied me, but made me promise I'd find you and your brother. Make sure you were safe."

"You offered to help her. Why? What was in it for you?" Arya asked skeptically.

Gendry had moved to Sandors legs, double knotting the cloth thickly.

At her question, Sandor's eyes dropped to the floor.

Arya scoffed out dryly. "You're a liar."

"Untie me, you little cunt!" Sandor growled as he rocked back and forth in the chair, tugging at the ties.

Arya took a step back.

Gendry rose from the floor and joined her.

"You really expected me to believe that!" Arya yelled at him.

"It's the truth." Sandor met her tone.

"No. My sister would never do that. She would never send me someone she knew I wouldn't trust."

"When I left her, she was unaware of the Lannister's plot against your father. She had no reason to think you wouldn't trust me."

Arya shook her head. He was lying. It was all a lie.

"Untie me." he said more calmly.

"Not until you tell me the truth."

"I've already told you the truth, you stubborn bitch! Now untie me..." he took a breath to calm himself. "I'll tell you everything I know about the Lannisters up until I left, but free me first...I won't hurt you. "

Arya shot a meaningful glance at Gendry's bleeding brow.

The hit had caused a few of the stitches to tear at the skin, and the entire area around the wound was swelling, so that you could no longer see the thread.

Sandor ignored that. "Untie me. I'm only here to help... you fucking need me."

Arya slapped the gun into Gendry's hand with a groan and stomped over to the night stand, where she'd left all of Sandor's belongings, picking up the lighter.

She turned to face Sandor, taking slow careful steps towards him.

"I heard a story about you once..." Arya began in a slow, soft voice, looking into Sandor's eyes. "From my sister Sansa." she flicked the lighter open, bringing it to life.

Sandor's sudden intake of breath confirmed the story's accuracy.

Her eyes fell on the flame as it danced and licked at the air with every step she took, until she was right next to Sandor.

"Arya." Gendry called from behind her, but she ignored him.

"I'm not sure how much of it is true." she whispered as she neared the flame to Sandor's burnt side of his face. "but i really do hope it will help me figure out how much of what you're telling me is true."

Sandor began to breath, heavy shuddery breaths, his eyes never leaving the lighter. He opened his mouth, perhaps ready to speak, but no words came out.

Arya neared the flame closer to him... about an inch away from his face... but then Gendry caught her wrist, taking the lighter in his other hand.

"Arya, what are you doing?!" he cried out.

She pulled her hand away. "Let go! What are _you_ doing?"

"Arya, _I'm a cop_... I'm not just going to.."

"Exactly, you're a cop." she said. "So you should know everything about this good cop, bad cop thing."

Gendry's jaw dropped, and he shook his head, unable to speak at first.

"Noo!" he finally stuttered out stupidly.

"You're the one who wanted to bring him here." she jabbed her finger into his chest. "I said we should have left, but you wanted to question him. How exactly were you planning on doing that?"

"I don't know, but not like this! I won't let you do this."

"He's one of them Gendry!" she yelled, pointing her finger at Sandor.

"I don't care about him. Or them, or anyone. I care about you!" Gendry rasped out desperately. "You've already been through enough... have seen enough. You don't need this too. You don't need to go through life knowing you did this to a man. I won't let you."

Arya stood still, taking in everything he had just said.

For a moment, the clarity of what she was about to do was chilling. She bit her lip to keep from shuddering at the realization. But then her thoughts trailed... to her father and mother, and to Rickon... to everything, and she realized that there was really no other choice.

"Then we kill him." she said nonchalantly, walking towards their bag for the one of the guns she'd stolen, knowing that reaching out for the one Gendry held would be useless.

"Arya, no!" Gendry yelled, as he wrapped his arms around her, locking hers down.

"Gendry, stop!" she yelled, leaning forward to try and flip him over with his own weight, like he had taught her, but he must have been expecting it, because instead, he used his weight to make them fall on the bed, where he flipped over her, holding her wrists down on the bed.

"Arya, don't!" he yelled as she began twisting under him, tugging at her wrists.

"Gendry, let me go! Stop!" she yelled furiously.

From his chair, Sandor could be heard laughing heartily at them, which only made Arya angrier.

She began kicking her legs, while at the same time twisting her wrists, so that Gendry had to let go for a moment to keep his own hands from twisting, which gave Arya a small window to try and crawl away from under him.

But he quickly grabbed hold of her again, and this time, he flipped her so that her face was buried on the mattress, letting all his weight fall on her.

Sandor, all the while, kept on laughing.

Arya was drained of strength, but she still wiggled under Gendry, until his mouth came right by her ear.

"Enough. Arya. Enough. Stop." he pleaded in a hushed whisper, reminding her too much of the afternoon he had arrested her outside of ther old Winterfell home.

Before everything turned to rot. Back when, the only thing wrong with life was that Jon was dead.

She relaxed under his weight, a sign she surrendered, and after a few beats Gendry rolled onto his back on the bed next to her, blocking her view of Sandor, giving her no choice but to look into his blue eyes.

She reached a finger up to touch his swelling brow gently. _i have to fix that_.

Gendry closed his eyes at her touch. It was not a flinch.

"What should we do then?" she asked him tiredly after a long moment had passed.

"You only have two options." Sandor answered her, bringing Arya to sit up on the bed, looking over to Sandor.

"You either kill me, or you trust me."

Gendry sat up as well, facing Arya.

She looked for an answer in his face. She needed him to help her make this decision.

Gendry looked just as confused as she felt though.

"I can't trust you." Arya finally told Sandor, but there was doubt in her voice.

Sandor rolled his eyes. "And you won't kill me, so then _let me go_. At least that way I can keep the other half of my promise."

Arya sighed, closing her eyes.

"It's late!" Gendry let out weakly. "Whatever choice we make, it won't make a difference if we make it now, or in a few hours. It's not like we can leave. So we should rest. Pick up on this in the morning."

It made sense to Arya. Her head was so full of thoughts and emotions, and her body dried of all it's life, she couldn't think straight.

She nodded.

"You should sleep. I'll take the first watch." He told her as he swung his feet off the bed.

"I can take the first watch." she told him.

He'd gotten hit pretty hard, and their struggle had left him exhausted. He should rest first.

He turned to her with a laugh. "I really don't care much about having a 'my horse is bigger than your horse' discussion right now Arya. I'm taking the first watch. You're sleeping." he said with authority, completely misunderstanding what she'd meant by it. But Arya knew there was no use arguing, judging from his tone.

"At least let me clean your cut before I go to bed." she said flatly as she reached over to the night table for Sandor's liquor flask. Gendry nodded once.

"If anything my horse would fuck your horses up... through their asses too." Sandor said to them from his chair.

Arya and Gendry shared a look, and Gendry shook his head lightly.

"This is gonna be a long night."

xxxxxxxxxx

The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes, was the buttons of his shirt.

A pain shot through his head as he made a move to lift it up to look at his surroundings.

He was in a large room, lit only by a large, stone fireplace.

Brienne sat on a chair a few meters away from him. Wearing a fitted white muscle shirt and jeans, her blonde hair sleeked back.

He could see bloody padding on one of her shoulders. She was staring at him.

Irritation made him shudder, and he tried moving, only to realize his hands were tied behind him, and his legs onto the legs of the chair he was sat on.

"Where are we?" he furrowed his brows at her, while fingering the knots on whatever it was she had used to tie him. They were too thick.

"Don't you recognize this place?" she rose from the chair.

Jaime glanced around. It was a large, elegant cabin, complete with stag heads and bear skins. He knew exactly where they were.

"It's my father's hunting cabin." he said, trying not to sound surprised. She nodded.

"My sister knows I was last with you. She'll be looking for me."

"And this is the last place she'll think of looking for you." Brienne said.

And she was right. Cersei would never think of looking for him here. He wasn't even sure roads around here were open for the public in the winter. Not with weather like this.

_Fucking wench!_

"How did you even know about this place?" Jaime asked her.

"I knew I recognized you when I saw you outside of the station that time. When I realized you were a Lannister, it still didn't click, even with your face was all over the news. Then I remembered the 12 page magazine article I read once in "Hunting"; it was on your father."

Jaime smiled. He remembered that horrid article. The whole family had to pose for a few pictures. "You should have killed me while you had the chance." he looked up at her through his lashes.

"No. You don't deserve to die. Not after what you did to Renly."

"That wasn't me." he cooed. "You were there. You saw it was..."

"It was that bitch. I know. And you allowed it." Brienne yelled, her face twisting into a grotesque grimace, as tears began to fill her eyes from the memories.

Jaime sighed. "What will you do to me then?" he asked her.

"You will tell me what she wants with Gendry. You will tell me everything I need to know about the officers she has working for her. You will tell me... everything."

Jaime laughed at that. This woman was clearly an idiot. "You do realize she is my sister. My twin sister. That bond is strong, and there is nothing I wouldn't do for her. I would even be willing to give my life for her, so this is all pointless wench. I'm not talking."

Brienne walked towards the fireplace at that, and reached down to grab fireplace poker that had been resting with it's tip inside the fire.

Jaime felt his body stiffen involuntarily.

He could not let her get to him. He would not.

His thoughts found Cersei. This was for Cersei. He would take this... for Cersei.

Brienne turned and started towards him, the hot poker's tip glowing a bright orange in the dark room. She blew at it, flaring it's color, before placing on the table besides him, where he noticed for the first time, an array of his father's tool, all set in a neat row.

"We'll start off easy. Slow. To warm you up." she said in a deep, menacing voice as she reached for his shirt and ripped it open, buttons clattering everywhere. "Then, if you don't cooperate, we can move onto removal of body parts. First a nail, then a finger. Maybe a hand." she picked up the hot poker, and his eyes followed the orange glow until it was before him.

_For Cersei. For Cersei. For Cersei. Cersei. Cersei. Cersei Cersei Cersei._

xxxxxxxxxx

Someone was shaking her arm lightly, and she rose off the pillow with a fist, only to realize it was Gendry. She blinked, rubbing at the sleep on her eyes.

"Is it my turn?" she croaked out as she pulled the covers off herself and brought her feet to the floor. Her skin instantly filled with goosebumps.

"Almost... It's almost morning." Gendry whispered. "He's asleep. Watch him for a few." he told her as he shrugged into his jacket.

Arya hugged herself, rubbing at her arms for warmth. "Where are you going?" she whispered to him. He was fully dressed to go out into the cold.

"I'll be back." he placed the gun in her hand. "I won't be long. I promise."

None of this made sense to Arya, but she nodded, sitting on the floor, across from Sandor.

Gendry opened the door, letting the cold in, which made her shiver.

"And Arya?" Gendry called before closing the door. "Don't hesitate shooting him if you have to."

And with that, he closed the door after himself.

Gendry had kept watch all night. _Stubborn idiot!_

Sandor was snoring lightly, his head slumped to one side, and Arya fought with the sleep by inspecting his gun.

It took Gendry about half an hour to return. When walked into the room, his finger was held against his lips as he reached for her jacket and scarf and beckoned her over to him.

She stood, confused, and fed her arms into her jacket as he held it open. She zipped it up while he looked for her boots.

Once she was ready, they walked outside of their room. It was still dark out. And freezing.

The lights were all on outside all of the other motel room, except for theirs, and Arya noticed the bulb had been broken on theirs.

At the edge of the sidewalk, right in front of the parking space assigned for their room, were three small, white candles.

Gendry sat on the floor next to them, and patted the spot next to him.

Arya felt her heart pound wildly against her chest as she sat next to him. _What is he doin? _

He took Sandor's lighter out and flicked it open, holding the flame to each wick until it came to life. "On the train ride to Barcelona, you mentioned you never had a proper funeral for Jon."

He turned to Arya, and she saw his eyes were glazed over. Her heart sank at that.

"I didn't know your father long. Not even a year. But... well." he cleared his throat nervously.

Arya's jaw was already beginning to tremble with emotion.

"...Well, he was the first person to believe in me. He saw, past skin, past image, beyond what everyone else saw when they looked at me, and he saw what I could be."

Arya sniffed.

"That's the kinda man he was. That's what made him such an incredible man... And it' why I loved him."

She pressed her hand against her lips as her chest heaved and her tears fell.

"You deserve, the best, the best this world has to offer..." he reached out for her hand. "...you don't deserve any of this. Any of it."

He began to sob, but he quickly composed himself, wiping his ruddy face with the back of his glove.

"You do deserve, a proper good bye." he said.

Arya let her face fall into her hands as she began to weep.

On her side, she felt Gendry begin to rise.

He pressed a kiss on her head gently, and leaned in to her ear. "Happy birthday, Arya." he said, and she heard his footsteps walk into the room, closing the door behind him quietly.

She looked up at the candles, the flames flickering in the night air, casting a warm glow on the sidewalk. She dragged herself closer to the candles, and turned to the first.

"Goodbye Jon. I miss you so much...I love you." leaning in, she blew out the candle.

"Mother." she said to the second one. " Im... so... sorry. Im so sorry I wasn't there. Im so sorry you were alone. I love you." she leaned in and blew the second candle out, turning to the last one.

"Dad?" she spoke out to the night sky.

Images of his death began replaying in her head, and she fell to one side, leaning her head on the cold cement, sniffing hard, then exhaling slowly before rising up again to face the last candle. "They'll pay father... I promise you... They will pay. They will pay for taking away such a beautiful man from my life." she said, and she leaned in to blow out the flame of the last candle.

Three strings of smoke rose from the extinguished wicks, dissolving into the night sky, along with the breaths that rose from her nose and mouth.

She sighed, peacefully. Surprisingly, she felt better.

She had needed that.

Walking inside the room, she saw Gendry sitting agaisnt the wall, looking through Sandor's phone. He looked up at her.

Arya smiled at him from the door, mouthing "thank you."

He bowed his head with a smile, and she sat next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder, taking in his scent.

Before long, he was snoring lightly. She smiled, and she took the phone from his hand, and the open wallet from his lap.

There was very little cash, and a few credit cards. Sandor's ID. Some business cards, and a folded picture, tucked deep inside on of the pockets.

Arya fingered inside the flap until she managed to pull it out. When she unfolded it, she was staring at her sister. An old picture. Almost two years old. On the back, written in blue ink, was a dedication to Joffrey.

_To Joffrey, with love, from your friend, Sansa_

Arya looked up at the still sleeping Sandor, then down at the picture again.

Careful not to wake Gendry, she stood off the floor, and found Sandor's pocket knife.

It was on the dresser, next to the television and what remained of the bed sheets.

She took it and walked over to Sandor, gently shaking him by the shoulder.

His lids blinked up and he rolled up his head with a pained grunt.

"My sister." Arya said, holding the picture open for him to see. "You really were trying to help her, weren't you?"

It took Sandor a while to fully wake up, but when his eyes fell on the picture, he answered.

"Yes."

"You... cared about her?"

Sandor let his gaze fall at that. "I hated the way Joffrey treated her."

"So you did. You like, loved her or something?"

Sandor's eyes met hers fiercely. "I wouldn't expect you to understand anything relating to you sister. Since you two are nothing alike."

Arya was too tired to let that irritate her. "You did, didn't you. You're really here to help us?"

Sandor nodded once. "Yes."

Arya nodded, walking around him and grabbing a knot of the cloth that bound his wrists together.

Her hands were trembling as she sawed at it.

She finally cut through and the strips of cloth began to fall to the floor as he pulled his hands forward, rubbing at his wrists.

"So, you trust me." he rasped out.

"No." Arya told him gently. "But I believe you."

**AN**

**Happy birthday Arya. **

**Well, i just realized, that a put two "torture" scenarios back to back. **

**I'm so glad Sandor didn't get tortured after all, thanks to Gendry's sense. But I'm afraid, Brienne will mess about with Jaime a bit. **

**Please don't hate me. I love him dearly. They're my second GOT OTP.**

**But you have to understand Brienne jsut lost Renly, and the only reason Jaime is even alive, is because Gendry is still in trouble, and it's not like she can call him to warn him.**

**Thank you all for your reviews :) and for reading this. **


	22. Chapter 22

After the blizzard, the driveway needed salting, and he was on his was down the basement stairs, when the door bell began to ring insistently.

He turned around and started heading back up the stairs, closing the basement door after himself and heading towards the front the door. Whomever it was, was still ringing.

"Alright! Alright, i hear you. Enough of that now!" he called when he was close enough to be heard through the door.

Robb Stark was the last person he expected to see when he opened the door.

He was thinner than last he'd seen him, his features haggard. He had the beginnings of a beard.

"Robb." he said, unable to contain the surprise in his voice. He gave the surrounding area a quick glance before pulling the boy in and closing the door.

"Petyr." the boy said with relief.

Petyr walked into the parlor, leaving Robb to follow. "What are you doing here?" he sat, offering the boy a seat. "I heard of the great tragedy that's befallen your family. I'm so sorry. It's terrible news... your parents... and your brother and sister. Is there any news of them?"

Robb shook his head, taking the seat across from him. "That is the reason I am here. I need your help?"

"My help?" Petyr said, suddenly alert.

"What happened to my family, what they're accusing my father of..."

"There has been eye witness acounts..."

"Bull shit. All of it. All lies!" Robb yelled.

Petyr nodded. Of course it was. It didn't take a wise man to figure it out. "That doesn't mean anything to authorities when all evidence, whether real or not, points to your father."

"This goes beyong framing my father." Robb said with a ferocity he had never seen in the boy.

"What do you mean?" Petyr asked.

"This isn't just about Robert's murder gone wrong. In fact . . . it has nothing to do with Robert."

Petyr leaned closer to the boy. "Then what is it about?" he asked him slowly.

Robb swallowed hard. As if consdering whether or not to say it.

Petyr knew it had nothing to do with trust. He knew he had the boy's trust. His long friendship with Catelyn had won him the trust of all the Starks. All except Ned.

Though he'd never told him so himself, there had never really been a need to. Petyr could see the way any words exchanged between him and Ned had always been delivered with caution on Ned's part.

Petyr had taken advantage of this distrust to get under Ned's skin, by trying all within his power to gain Catelyn and the children's love and trust with gifts and visits and invitations to events he hosted.

This all, however, had ended a few years back when he had, under the influence of wine, kissed Catelyn at one of his parties.

He still kept that bottle of wine. A souvenir of that night.

"Robb?" he said when the boy wouldn't speak. "What is this about then?"

The boy raised his blue eyes, meeting his fiercely. "An extermination."

Petyr felt an involuntary chill crawl down his arms at the word. "An extermination?"

Robb nodded stifly. "Of my family. The Starks, and everyone involved with them. It's

not about Robert at all. It's no coincidence that Robert's family is fine, while both my parents are dead. . ."

"But..."

"Arya and Rickon. Missing. One of father's closest friends and colleagues, Yoren. Dead. Two officers from father's unit, missing, a third found dead, in a dumpster, next to a pub who's owner was also found dead. Twice has someone attempted on Bran's life."

"Robert's brother Renly was found dead last night in his flat after a neighbor called about gun shots." Petyr offered, but the boy shook his head.

"I know, but Renly and Robert weren't close, and Renly just happens to be room mates with one of father's missing officers."

"Yes." Petyr nodded. "I heard something like that on the news. It's a small world after all." he let out bitterly.

"It is. So please, Petyr, tell me I'm not going crazy. Tell me that I'm making some sense."

Petyr looked into Robb's eyes, and saw how much he needed to hear him say those words.

And he had every right to hear them, for he was right about everything. He was a smart young man, and his theories made too much sense.

"You're not crazy Robb." he said, and saw the wave of relief take over Robb.

"So. You'll help me?"

Petyr took the boy's hands in his, giving them a reassuring squeeze before releasing them. "I will make some calls. I know people. I'll find out as much as I can about all of this, and we'll figure out how to use that information to our benifit. Are you checked into a hotel. Where can I reach you?"

"Uh, no. I haven't checked in anywhere." Robb said sheepishly.

"Then you'll stay here." Petyr rose from his seat.

Robb smiled weakly, standing aswell. "Thank you. For everthing. I knew I could trust you."

Petyr could've laughed at that. "Now that's something you shouldn't do."

Robb's brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you would do well to not trust anyone. Not after what you've just told me. It's the wise thing to do. Have you eaten breakfast?" he patted the boys back, leading him down the hall towards the kitchen. "I could fix you something."

"Uhh...I'm not hungry, thank you. I would really appreciate a bath though."

Petyr smiled. "Of course. I'll show you to your room. Everything you need will be in the guest bathroom." he called over his shoulder as they began to climb the stairs.

As soon as he heard the water running in the bathroom, he climbed down stairs and went into his office, pulling out his phone book, turning to the L.

He hadn't realized he had been staring at Cersei Lannister's number that long, until he heard the footsteps descending on the stairs, and he slapped the book closed.

He would come back later, he told himself.

xxxxxxxxxx

Gendry shivered on the sidewalk in front of the gas station he had come to earlier that morning to buy the three candles for Arya.

He could feel the cold of the cement soak through his jeans, numbing his ass. Next to him, Sandor stood, looking out into nothing, his face stoic.

The burnt side of his face was facing Gendry, and it made him idly wonder about the story Arya had mention the night before, when she had been ready to burn him.

With the burden of figuring out whether to trust Sandor or not off his chest, Gendry's thoughts had quickly found their way back to that kiss.

Anger rippled through him every time he remembered.

Looking back, he really had no idea what had been going through his head when he had decided to kiss her.

With so much death, and them running for their lives, he should have known that whould have really been the last thing on her mind. Hell, it should have been the last thing in his.

But... the way she had been staring at him. Her eyes...

He rubbed his hands over his face and exhaled. He decided to stand, feeling his back side begin to tingle numbly as he did.

When he looked up, Sandor was staring at him.

Arya stepped out of the small store, making her way over to them. Gendry and Sandor met her half way.

"They said there is no bus that comes through here, and that they have no taxi system in either this town, or the next one." she said, pulling out a tube of antibiotic cream from a small plastic bag and giving it to Gendry. "For your cut." she said.

He took it with a small grateful smile. "So, that couple... they pretty much left us in the middle of fucking nowhere."

Arya nodded. "They said we could hitch a ride with a local, or..."

"Steal a car." Sandor offered besides them.

Both Arya and Gendry turned to him.

Sandor had been following them in a car he'd stolen. He'd parked it outside of the hotel the night before, but the battery had died overnight.

"they gave me this address." Arya said, ignoring Sandor. "The man in there said this guy goes to Madrid every other week." she said pointing to the small slip of paper in her hand. "If we're lucky, this week is a "go" week, or they said we could pay him, and he might not mind driving us there. They said he lives that way, near the motorway."

Gendry nodded, turning in the direction she was pointing. "Let's go then."

Sandor reached over and took the slip of paper from Arya's hands, looking over the messy hand.

"It's in Spanish." Arya said to him.

He smiled at her. "It's just an address." he told her dryly, taking the lead, leaving Arya and Gendry to follow.

"So... we trust him now." Gendry whispered to her as he began to uncap the tube of antibiotic.

"No. I just, believe him now." she whispered back.

"Yea, I could tell by the, you know, the way he was out of is binds when I woke up."

Next to him, Arya sighed.

"You could have woken me up. He might have hurt you. What were you thinking?" he whispered as he began to smooth a bit of the cream over his swollen brow.

"I wasn't thinking anything. I just happened. You fell asleep, and I was going through his wallet, and I found a picture. . . . It was a picture of my sister, Gendry. And I just knew. Everything he had said. I just knew it was true. I asked him about it, then I was cutting him free. There was no real time to wake you. It had nothing to do with not needing you to make the decision though."

As soon as she said it, Gendry knew that was exactly what had been bothering him. Yes, he had been worried about her safety, but what bothered him was also that she had made the decision on her own. Without him.

The realization bothered him.

Knowing she somehow had figured it out... bothered him more.

"Gendry?" Arya said, in a completely different tone, and Gendry felt a bit of panic crawl through him.

"We, we need to talk." she said, and he didn't turn to face her.

Ahead of them, a small house could be seen amongst the snow, and Gendry hoped this was the place they were looking for.

He knew what this was about.

It was about that kiss.

And as much as they really did need to talk about it, this wasn't really the place, or the time.

"About that kiss..."

"Is that it?" Gendry yelled over to Sandor.

"Yes." the large man called back, and Gendry put his hand over Arya's shoulder for a brief second before walking ahead of her, passing Sandor, and stepping under the porch of the small red house, stomping the snow off his boots before knocking.

For a split second, the man that opened the door had looked exactly like Tom, but then this man was a few inches taller, and a few years younger.

The man agreed to drive them to Madrid, and Gendry paid him, and they were on their way.

The drive was shorter than he had expected, and they made it there a few minutes after 10.

He dropped them off at the train station, where Sandor went inside to check the times and prices.

Gendry was both relieved and concerned Arya wasn't trying to bring up the kiss again as they waited for Sandor outside of the station.

Gendry looked around, trying to avoid meeting Arya's eyes.

A man, standing a about 20 meters away from them was staring at them.

As soon as he caught sight of Gendry staring back, he turned around and walked away.

Gendry was about to ask Arya if she'd seen it, but Sandor was already walking their way.

"There's no train to Paris. We have to get the overnight from Barcelona." he told them.

So we need to go to Barcelona." Arya turned to Gendry. "How much cash do we have left?"

"Very little." he told her. "Certainly not enough to buy tickets to Barcelona, and again for Paris."

"Car rental? It's just a six hour drive." Arya said.

"Well, yes, but then what?"

Sandor stepped besides Gendry. "Then we won't need to take a train. We can drive to Paris."

"No way." Gendry shook his head. "Train's safer."

"Safer how?" Sandor's nostrils flared. "Safer from me, you mean. Is that it?"

Gendry clenched his jaw to keep calm.

"Speak up, boy!" Sandor spat out.

"Yes! Safer from you. To be honest, I don't really trust you. Once we're on the road, what's to keep you from..."

Sandor laughed. "I haven't tried anything, yet, have I?!"

"YET!" Gendry yelled. "Yet! If I recall correctly, I wasn't part of your agreement with that girl, only Arya was."

Sandor nodded stiffly. "You're right. I could just take the girl and leave. Do things my way."

"No fucking way." Gendry said, stepping up to Sandor.

"Oi!" Arya yelled next to them, puling them, each by an arm. "So much for not wanting to attract attention." she said sarcastically, and Gendry noticed people around the station were beginning to stare. He exhaled to calm himself, taking a step back from the large man in front of him.

"We should get the car. It our best bet." Arya said, touching Gendry's arm, giving it a small squeeze.

Gendry felt like he'd lost this one. Arya had already made up her mind.

"Alright." he said after a long moment. There was no point in arguing. "We get a car."

xxxxxxxxxx

After a quick breakfast, they went to Sixt, where Sandor got them a car, telling Gendry he'd take the first shift driving.

There was still tension between them, but what surprised Arya the most was how Sandor was reacting to all of this.

She had already seen Gendry with other men calling the shots when they'd gotten captured by Tom and the rest, and although Joffrey had always bossed Sandor around, it had always been clear how little Sandor actually thought of the small, blonde boy.

This was different. Gendry was not Joffrey, and Sandor wasn't working.

They were more on the same level, and Sandor could easily beat Gendry and take her, like Gendry had pointed out earlier.

But he didn't.

Gendry sat in the front with Sandor, leaving the back seat all for Arya.

Neither one of them spoke a word to each other during the drive.

Occasionally Arya would remark on something outside, but they didn't say anything in return.

Gendry would glance back at her through the mirror in the visor, but when she'd catch him, he'd look away.

He was still avoiding eye contact. Ever since she brought up the kiss.

Arya felt tears of anger burn at the back of her eyes every time she remembered it. She wished it had never happened. This was exactly the last thing she needed right now... And now, with Sandor tied at their hip...

That's one thing she both hated and at the same time felt grateful for.

Sandor's presence made it difficult for them to discuss things. That frustrated her, and at the same time, it took a bit of that pressure off, through she had to admit she missed talking freely with Gendry, even if he had made things awkward with the kiss.

_Well I'm not bringing it up again._

She had tried once already, and he practically brushed it aside, patting her on the back, like a silly little girl.

_No. If he wanted to discuss it, he would have to bring it up himself._

The hours seems to drag at first, but after they'd crossed the border, over to France, they seemed to pass by faster.

For the most part, the road was quite clear, through all around, there was nothing but white above in the sky and below on the land.

Once they experienced a white out, and Sandor had to pull over until it cleared.

"So much for a window." he muttered quietly, more to himself.

"Do you think the storm will pick up again earlier that they expected?" Arya asked him, leaning forward on her seat, so her head came between Sandor and Gendry.

"If the wind continues." Sandor said.

Arya prayed it wouldn't.

They stopped for gasoline soon after that, and they all got off the car to stretch and use the toilet.

The crisp air outside felt nice after the long hours of car heater.

Arya was the first out of the toilet, and she waited for Gendry and Sandor by the car.

Sandor was the next one out.

"Where are we?" Gendry asked as he walked towards them.

"Right outside Bordeaux. We should stop and eat there." Sandor told him.

"I'm not hungry." Arya lied.

She really wanted to keep on moving.

"Well I am." Sandor said, placing the nozzle back in the pump.

"We really should eat." Gendry told Arya as he opened the back door for her, but Arya knew he really mostly meant, she should eat.

She rolled her eyes, surprisingly bringing a small smile from him.

As soon as she stepped inside the car, her stomach began to grumble.

They pulled out of the station, and drove a little less than a kilometer before Arya noticed the unsteadiness of the car.

"What is that?" she asked, sliding to the window and looking out.

"Fuck!" Sandor said, pulling over to the curb.

"Flat tire." Gendry said, stepping out as soon as the car had stopped.

Sandor turned the car off and stepped out aswell.

Immediately they began to argue.

_"I knew we should have taken a train."_ Gendry said.

_"Oh, shut the fuck up, will ya."_

Arya opened the door, stepping out. "Don't we have a spare." she said.

"Yes, but what if it happens again. When we're in the middle of nowhere. What if the weather worsens. If we'd taken the train..."

"We'll we didn't, did we, so there's nothing we can do now is there. Except continue on." Sandor cut him off.

"We can stay here the night, in Bordeaux. It's safer than risking the road. It's already begun to snow."

Gendry was right, she hadn't noticed it until just now that he'd mentioned it. Their heads and shoulders were white with snow flakes.

"With what money? That's the reason we got the car." Arya pointed out.

"Same money we we're going to fill the car with gasoline with, and eat with." Gendry replied harshly. "We'll need to steal some."

"I insist we risk it." Sandor said.

"You can risk it. We're staying here." Gendry said, and Arya felt a bit annoyed that Gendry was making these decisions for her.

"Could you two stop fighting for a moment. You're giving me a headache." she snapped at them. "This isn't about figuring out who's the alpha male here. Have you forgotten there's still people after you?" she asked Gendry.

"I need to go home and find my brothers and my sister. Rickon's still missing. We still have to find that will."

"Yes, and we won't be able to do any of that if we crash, or worse." Gendry said.

Arya bit her lip, looking out at the snowy fields around them.

He was right.

She nodded.

Besides them, Sandor let out an exasperated sigh, walking back to the car.

They made it to Bordeaux easily.

Gendry checked them into a cheap hotel, while Sandor changed the tire outside of the hotel. Arya offered to help him, but he ignored her.

She'd done it several times before on her own truck. Robb had taught her.

By the time the tire was changed, Gendry was next to them, and he gave Sandor the extra key card.

"We can leave first thing tomorrow." he told him, and Arya thought this was the closest thing to them making peace that she would see.

They found a small restaurant nearby called Au Bonheur du Palais, which smelled great and worked with their budget.

The meal was hot, and Arya wolfed it down, not caring about the mess she was making.

Sandor and Gendry seemed to enjoy theirs as well.

"So, how are we doing this then?" Gendry asked after they'd been eating in silence a while.

"We have guns..." Sandor began, but Arya widened her eyes in disbelief.

"You're not hurting anyone." she whispered to him, pressing her finger over the stray sesame seeds in her plate, before bringing it up to her mouth.

He clenched his jaw.

"If we do this, it has to be someone we know can afford it." Gendry said, taking a sip of his drink.

"Like that suit?" Sandor asked, signaling across the room with his eyes.

Gendry and Arya both turned at the same time spotting the man.

He was a suited man sitting alone reading a book. There was an i pad and some car keys on the table next to his bowl.

"Yes." Gendry said besides her. "But we'll need to be careful."

"Just leave him to me." Sandor said.

"No offense, but with a face like yours, it won't be hard for the police to find and identify you." Gendry said.

"Well at least if they arrest me, they won't have the wanted bastard son of Robert Baratheon, now will they." Sandor snapped back, his words like steel.

"And if they arrest you, you won't be able to keep your promise to Sansa." Gendry said mockingly.

Arya rolled her eyes, and washed the food she had in her mouth down with some of her drink, rising from the table and walking towards the man in the suit.

She walked right by the man's table, brushing her hips against a corner of his i pad, which knocked the keys to the floor on the other side.

"I'm sorry." she told the man with a smile, picking up the keys before he reached for them and pressing the alarm button.

Right outside the restaurant, a gray Mercedes' alarm began to shriek.

She began to press buttons in mock panic, until the man reached for his keys, turning the alarm off with a press of a button.

"Sorry." she repeated, and he gave her an irritated smile before she turned away and walked back to her table.

Gendry and Sandor looked confused, but there was a smile playing at the corners of Gendry's lips.

"Now we know his car." she whispered as she sat on her chair. "Sandor uses his knife to mess up the guy's tires, and Gendry, you can hang around the car, and when he's looking over his tires, sweep in for his wallet."

Gendry opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"This might work." Sandor said, "but I don't see why we're complicating it so much."

"To make sure you don't hurt anyone." she said, and besides her Gendry nodded.

They finished their meal quickly, and by the time they left, the man was still sitting at the table.

Arya stood near by, incase anything went wrong. Gendry leaned against the wall of the restaurant, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and lighting one with Sandor's lighter.

Arya's eyebrows furrowed at the sight of Gendry smoking.

Sandor was about to walk by and stab his knife into the tires, which was now proving to be a far more difficult job than she had imagined, since the area was busier than one would expect on a winter day.

Arya kept her eyes on the people around, rather than Sandor, and when he pretended to drop something near the tire and bent over to pick it up, no one noticed him slide his knife into one tire, then the other.

Now it was all on Gendry.

The man took a little less than a half hour to finally come out, and by then the car was leaning forward, the two front tires clearly flat.

"Merde!" he yelled as soon as he saw his tires.

Gendry dropped his second cigarette on the floor, twisting his boot over it and walking up to the man. "Wow. Cold fucked up your tires good." he said loudly, leaning next to the man and inspecting the tires. He turned to face the man and said something Arya couldn't hear, but it made the man lean into the tires and take a closer look where Gendry pointed.

Arya noticed the quick slip of the hand inside the coat pocket, and then the wallet. Firmly grasped in Gendry's hand.

The man didn't seem to feel a thing, and Arya smiled in relief.

They'd made it!

Gendry rose, beginning to walk away, but then the man caught him by the arm, and began to yell at him while checking his pockets.

Arya was about to run to him, when she felt an arm around hers.

"What are you..." she yelled and saw it was Sandor.

"Run." he told her as he pulled her.

"Stop, we need to help him!"

"He can take care of himself!"

Arya tugged hard, freeing herself for a brief moment, but when she turned, Gendry was already running in the opposite direction, away from Sandor and her.

"Come on!" Sandor growled besides her, and this time, she followed.

They crossed the street, and ran down until they came to a main street with some traffic. Arya could still hear the screaming man.

"Where are we going?!" Arya yelled after Sandor.

"Hotel!" he said before running across the street, gaining them some honks.

_Gendry will run to the hotel too. _

The street they were running down came to another main street, and they could see the hotel from there.

They were no longer running, but by the time they reached their room she was still short of breath.

Walking in, the room was empty.

"Where is he?" she asked.

"Not here yet." Sandor told her, closing the door behind himself.

So they waited. They waited minute, after minute, after minute, until Arya couldn't wait anymore.

"I'm going out to look for him." she said, walking to the door.

Sandro reached it before her, blocking her way. "No you're not. He can take care of himself."

"I don't care, it's been too long." she said, trying to push the man aside. It was pointless. "Move!" she yelled.

"If he's safe, he'll be here, if he's not, there's nothing you or I can do about it!"

"I said move!" she yelled, beginning to feel the panic creep into her. There was no way she was leaving Gendry out there on his own.

He grabbed the front of her jacket, pulling her to him.

"I'm not letting you leave." Sandor rasped out hotly, just an inch away from her face, before pushing her hard against one of the beds and crossing to his coat.

Arya rolled to her side, then quickly off the bed, making her way to the door. "I'd like to see you try and stop me." she said with out turning to face him, but when she heard a gun cock, she froze.

"You're not leaving Arya."

She spun slowly, feeling her insides sink like sand. Sandor had his gun pointed straight at her.

"He.. could be in trouble." she said stiffly, trying to control the rage beginning to boil inside of her.

"He was not part of the deal I made with your sister. You were."

"And so, you won't shoot me." Arya told him, turning for the door again.

She heard the gun drop on the dresser, and the heavy steps of Sandor as he reached for her and lifted her off the floor.

"Let go!" she screamed, and began punch, and kick, but then her voice became muffled when Sandor pushed her face down on the bed, holding her hands against her sides as he began to wrap the covers tightly around her.

"Oh, I'm going to kill you!" she breathed out, trying to wiggled herself free, but he had tucked in the ends of the covers in itself.

He began to laugh at the sight of her. "I've made myself an Arya burrito."

"Go to hell!" she yelled, feeling tears of frustration begin to well in her eyes.

_Gendry could be in trouble._

"You be quiet now, or I'll gag you." he told her, falling back on the other bed and taking the remote off the night table between the beds, turning the television on.

Arya fought with the covers, but after no success, she began moving from side to side, gaining momentum, until she managed to make herself roll off the bed.

She could hear Sandor jump off the bed, but the fall had loosened the covers, so when he picked her up, her arms and legs were free.

He slammed her against the bed, but she began to hit him with her hands, distracting him from her legs.

She still couldn't move them, since her knees were still inside the bundle, but the more Sandor wrestled with her, the more she could kick them free.

"Fucking hell. Stop moving!" he spat out as her knees came free.

In one move, she kicked between his legs, aiming for his groin, but instead hitting the inside of his leg.

It must have still hurt him, for he fell to the floor.

Arya quickly began to unroll herself free, kicking him in the stomach twice before walking towards the door.

"I'm going to find Gendry." she said, reaching for the door knob.

But she jumped back instead, as the door slammed open, and Gendry dropped his jacket on the floor and storm straight into the bathroom, locking the door behind him.

"Gendry?" she called, walking to the bathroom door and knocking. "Gendry, are you alright?"

There was no answer.

Just the sink water running.

"Gendry!" she began to beat at the door with the pad of her hand. "Gendry... can you at least answer me."

Still nothing.

She waited a while longer, before she turned to Sandor, who had sat himself on one of the beds, and was rubbing at the inside of his leg. "Something's not right." she said to him.

"I told you he was fine." he snapped bitterly at her.

She ignored him and began to look through his jacket pockets, until she found his knife, switching it open.

"He's probably taking a shit." Sandor warned her.

Arya glared back at him as she walked back to the bathroom door, and tried using the knife as a key, but the blade was too wide, so she slid it inside the crack between the door and the frame, pushing it in with her hip. Once inside, she only had to wiggle it a few times, before the door opened.

Gendry was leaning over the sink, violently rubbing water into his arms and hands, which were covered in blood. His face pale, and covered in a sheen of sweat.

His shirt and jeans were full of blood as well.

"You're hurt!" she yelled, stepping into the bathroom. "What happened?"

He was still not answering, and the water was beginning to clean the skin, showing no wounds.

"Gendry?" she said softly.

Nothing.

"Gendry!" she yelled, pulling him by the arm.

He turned to her, shoving her back so her back slammed into the wall.

Arya gasped out, grabbing the edge of the door to keep herself from falling. She stared at Gendry wide-eyed, a mixture of fear and anger twisting inside of her.

Gendry blinked back a couple of times, shaking his head lightly. His face instantly filling with realization of what he'd just done, and regret.

That didn't stop Arya from pushing herself off the wall and punching him in the face before slamming her hands on his chest.

He fell back, sitting on the toilet.

Arya was breathing hard through her nostrils, trying to calm herself. Her knuckles felt raw.

"I'm sorry." Gendry stuttered out, resting his elbows on his knees, keeping gaze on the floor.

He sounded so miserable.

Arya closed her eyes, swallowing down the fuzziness cause by the adrenaline.

She opened her eyes and reached for the faucet to turn it off.

"What happened?" she whispered calmly, as she kneeled in front of Gendry and carefully took his face in her hands.

He parted his lips, but didn't say anything. His eyes still set on the floor.

"Gendry. Look at me." she whispered.

And he did.

His eyes were dull and they almost looked lost. "We're being followed." he managed.

"By the police?" Arya asked in alarm.

She felt him shake his head lightly in her hands. "It's someone else. I noticed him outside the train station. After I ran from the man from the cafe, he followed me..." Gendry trailed off, dropping his gaze once more. "He had a knife... he attacked me." his eyes met hers again. "I... I had to... had to kill him."

Arya swallowed hard, watching the wretchedness take over Gendry's features.

"Gendry." she breathed out, closing her eyes and leaning her forehead against his. "You had no choice. He attacked you. You had to defend yourself. You did nothing wrong." she told him.

And even though everything she was saying was true, she felt her words were stupid, inappropriate, and of very little help.

Her mind trailed off to the man she had shot in the alley near Gendry's apartment.

The man was about to hurt Gendry. She had no choice.

And yet, as she came close to the dead body on the floor, and stared at the pool of blood slowly growing around the man's body, she felt a small, empty, ice like hole in her chest.

She had done that. She had taken that life.

And along with him, a tiny bit of Arya had died too.

She didn't know how long she knelt there, slowly brushing her thumbs over Gendry's stubbly cheeks, their foreheads resting together as his hands rested on her sides.

But when she finally rose off the floor, she could see some of the color had returned to Gendry's face.

She pulled back the shower curtain and turned the shower handle all the way to hot.

"Thank you Arya." he said behind her.

She shook her head with a smile. "What are friends for."

"I'm sorry I pushed you." he whispered.

"I'm sorry I punched you." she told him with a smile, which he returned, bringing her relief.

"Well..."

"Uh, yea. I'll leave now." she said, walking out into the bedroom.

"We're being followed." she said to Sandor as soon as the door closed behind her.

"I heard." he grumbled sleepily from the bed.

He didn't seem the least bit worried. "Gendry... he took care of the man who was following us, but there may be more." she said, as she sat on the edge of the other bed and began unlacing her boots.

"Don't doubt there is more. Don't doubt they're Cersei's men." he mumbled, with a tiny hint of irritation, turning on his side, giving Arya his back.

She changed into her pajamas, with only the light from the television lighting the room, and slipped into bed, deciding to wait for Gendry to come out of the shower. But the minutes passed and the water was still running, and her lids began to grow heavy, until she could bare it no longer, and she fell asleep.

xxxxxxxxxx

The wallet had slid out of the man's pocket easily enough.

It had been Gendry's sudden movement that had put the man on alert, his hand dropping to his pocket, finding his wallet missing.

Before Gendry could walk away, the man had a hold on his arm and was already calling for help.

It hadn't been hard to twist free of the man's hold, and then he was running.

Away from the man and away from Arya.

If they did catch him, he wanted her nowhere near, knowing she'd try something stupid.

He'd made it all the way to the hotel, where he'd hid by an alley. If anyone had followed him the last place he wanted to lead them to was their room.

After minutes of nothing, he decided it was safe to head to the room ... then he heard the voice from behind.

"Turn around slowly. Hands in the air."

Gendry cursed himself mentally, raising his hand, yet making a note of where his gun was.

When he turned to face the man, he flung himself at Gendry with a large bowie knife.

Gendry caught the wrist of the hand holding the knife, and the struggle began.

The man pushed Gendry back against the wall, bringing the blade close to his face.

Gendry tightened his grasp on the man's wrist, seeing the gleaming steel inch closer and closer to him.

He grunted out loudly, pushing the man by the wrist with enough for to make him nearly fall.

He was about to reach for his gun, but the man began slashing at the air in front of him, walking up to Gendry, giving him no choice but to back out.

Gendry caught the man's arm, twisting it until the hold he had on the knife loosened, and Gendry could take it from him.

What happened next was still blurred in Gendry's memory. Even as he stood under the hot shower water, washing the blood away, going over everything that happened, this remained a blur.

The man had knocked Gendry on the floor, straddling him.

Gendry was surprised at the strength he had, for such a small man.

Twisting the hand he held the knife in, he pointed it straight at Gendry's chest, and Gendry felt himself use all the strength in him to keep his own hand from leading the knife straight into his heart.

He let out another yell, and used the last he had in him to twist the knife in the opposite direction.

The knife slid into the man's chest then.

Gendry wasn't sure if the man fell into the knife, or if he pushed the knife in himself.

The man's eyes grey an eerie black, and he began to cough up blood all over Gendry's chest and arms.

Gendry pushed the man's flailing off him, and sat up, besides him.

"Who are you?" he asked out in a shuddery breath. "Who sent you?"

But the man was already gone.

Gendry leaned his forehead against the shower tile, feeling the hot water slide down his back.

He closed his eyes.

_You could have handles that differently. You didn't have to kill him. Because you dod kill him, Gendry. He didn't fall into the knife. You slid it into him._

Gendry reached for the shower handle, turning the water off.

He drapped his wet shirt and jeans over the shower curtain pole, hoping they would have enough time to dry.

He had rubbed at them hard, but they still clung to stain of blood.

The lights were off when he walked out of the bathroom, and he quietly made his way to their bag, changing in the dark.

Looking over to Arya's sleeping figure, he almost didn't want to slip into bed next to her.

He'd be driving tomorrow though, and he knew he needed a proper rest.

He lifted the covers carefully, sliding in slowly.

One of Arya's hands reached over to him, taking his.

Before he knew what she was doing, she pressed her lips to the back of his hand, giving it a soft kiss.

At that moment, Gendry forgot all about the man, or Sandor sleeping on the other bed behind him, or the Baratheons, and the Lannisters, and running away.

At that moment, it was just him, and Arya, and the soft, lingering kiss she's pressed on his hand.

He was surprised to find sleep so easily after everything. He attributed it to the fact that Arya held his hand the rest of the night. And when he woke, he almost forgot where he was. His thoughts went straight to Arya.

He opened his eyes, expecting to see her face, only to see nothing more than an empty pillow.

He sat up on the bed, turning to the bed next to his.

It was empty.

"Arya?" he called, kicking the covers off himself. "Sandor."

He jumped off the bed, walking straight to the window, and pulling the drapes back.

The sun wasn't out yet, but he could tell it was about to dawn.

"Fuck" he breathed out, walking to his boots and slipping his feet in, not bothering with the laces.

He ran out of the room and down the corridor, heading out the doors into the parking lot. Their rental car was gone.

"Fuck!" he yelled, combing his fingers through his hair.

This couldn't be happening. This wasn't true.

His chest began to heave as he looked around, hoping to spot something anything, but realizing there was nothing to spot.

He clasped his hand over his mouth, walking a few steps to one side, before stopping and walking on the opposite direction.

How could he have allowed this? How could he not have heard anything.

The thought of Arya trying to call for him, and failing twisted like acid inside him.

Gendry sniffed, wiping at the tears in his eyes, turning back towards the hotel, running back to the room.

He went into the rest room, pulling his jeans off the pole. They were still damp, but he still slid into them.

He pulled at the shirt, bundling it up with his pajama bottoms as he headed out of the bathroom and towards their bag.

The door opened behind him, and Sandor walked in holding a cup holder with three coffees.

Gendry walked up to him, grabbing him by the collar of his coat. "Where the hell where you!" he shook him, making the coffees fall from his hands.

"Get the fuck off me!" Sandor yelled, shoving Gendry back. "I went to get coffee."

"Where is she?" Gendry asked, looking to the door.

"I left her here with you. Asleep."

Gendry turned to the bed. "She's gone."

**AN**

**Have I told you how much I love you all! **

**Well I do. You guys are so great! You're the reason I'm still writing this story :)**

**Thank you all for your reviews, you have no idea how much they help me continue to write. **

**Thanks to all those guest reviewers I can't personally thank. Cristina G, I'd love to check out your tumblr, just send me the link.**

**Some of you said in reviews that you gobbled up my story within hours, and hearing that just fills me with so many feelings.**

**Thank you all, again.**

**This chapter was pretty exhausting. School started again, and work has been stressfull, and on top of that, Gendry and Sandor are an exhausting mix.**

***sigh***

**I've introduced, yet another character, and I know some of you may have wanted to hear about Brienne and Jaime in this chapter after the note we left them on last time, but I won't be bringing them back for another chapter :( and I apologize for that. **

**I have a few things to add. **

**Firstly, I've made a third trailer for this fic, and by far, it is my favorite of the three i've made. **

**please check it out and leave me a comment, or send me a message, tell me what you think :)**

**also, there was a scene in this chapter that was inspired by a girl's drawing I saw on tumblr. it was the bathroom scene, when Arya is comforting Gendry.**

**the drawing itself has nothing to do with the scene it inspired. FIrstly the drawing isn't modern and what's going on in the drawing had nothing to do with what happens in the scene, other than Arya comforting Gendry, but i did put the link of it in my profile, it really is an amazing drawing. All her work is and I encourage you to check out her work.**

**As always, please review, tell me your thoughts!**


	23. Chapter 23

Sandor kicked the spilled coffee cups on the floor aside with his boot, pushing past Gendry as he walked over to one of the beds and sat.

"What do you mean gone?" he asked Gendry.

Gendry felt his chest clench. "I mean. . . she's not here." he said hesitantly.

He heard Sandor exhale from the bed.

"Did you take the car when you went for the coffees? Cause it's gone." Gendry told him, combing his fingers through his thick hair.

"Shit!" Sandor whispered. "She's run off."

Gendry shook his head, turning to face the large man. "We're being followed. Last night, there was a man..."

"She told me." Sandor interupted him. "But if they'd taken her, you would have heard something. A struggle, screams, anything. She wouldn't just let herself be taken without a fight. . . She left."

Gendry shook his head harder. " No." he uttered out. _She couldn't have_.

"She's gone. She left you!" Sandor spat out, his words bringing a shudder from Gendry.

No.

No.

She couldn't have. It just didn't make any sense.

"Last night, she seemed fine." Gendry said, more to himself than to Sandor.

_She seemed normal._

Gendry knew she hadn't really liked the idea of staying here the night, but she wasn't that against it to leave.

Nothing about her behavior suggested she might do this.

She had comforted Gendry.

She had kissed his hand...

Gendry beat himself mentally.

What did that even really mean? Nothing. Less than nothing. Since when had he given so much meaning to little gestures?

"If we leave now, we can still catch up to her." Sandor's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Maybe she just... She may come back... she may have just..."

"Just what? Gone out for a little joy ride?"

"We don't even know where she left." Gendry began to pace in the small area in front of the beds. "Did she got to Paris, and if so, why did she leave without us? Did she go back to Spain? Did someone take her? We don't know anything!"

"No one took her!" Sandor yelled.

Gendry turned to him furiously. "This is all your fault." he said stiffly, trying to keep the anger at bay.

But when Sandor's burnt face twisted into a sinister smile, he lost it.

"You led them straight to us! Things were fine before you showed up!" he pointed a finger at the sitting man.

Sandor sprung off the bed, grabbing Gendry by the collar of his shirt. "I'm so close to fucking you up!" he admitted in a suppressed tone.

Gendry shoved him back hard, swinging at his face. Sandor caught his fist in the air, twisting it to one side and headbutting into his forehead.

Gendry saw a flash of white, and grabbed onto the dresser behind him to keep from falling, using it to push himself forward and towards Sandor.

He swung a second time.

This time he didn't miss.

Sandor barely even acknowledged the hit though, and once more grabbed Gendry by the shirt, this time slamming him against a wall, knocking the air out of him.

Gendry grimaced in pain, blinking several times until he was able to focus on Sandor's face, just an inch away from his.

"You need to pull yourself together." he huffed through clenched teeth before tossing him aside.

Gendry stumbled down to the floor.

"She's going to her family." Sandor said in a more composed voice. "She's on her way home. Now, you can either come with me, or you can stay her and wait for her, and mope, and over think, or whatever the fuck you want to do. But I'm going to Sheffield."

Gendry closed his eyes and grabbed on to the side of the bed to rise.

His brow was throbbing. It seemed like anytime he took a hit, he took it on the stitches.

His thoughts trailed back to Arya, stitching him up.

She had been ready to trust Jaqen that night. Then her mother died, and something changed. Something made her change her mind.

Then Sandor came... and something changed again, and she was ready to trust him.

Rage twisted inside of him.

_I'm just like them. _

_Like Yoren. Jaqen. Sandor. _

_Just someone she needed to use. _

_Only she found longer use for me. Until i stained my hands with blood and turned us into a target._

"I don't think she wants us to follow her." Gendry muttered out dryly.

Sandor chuckled. "I don't think she ever did. But I never needed her want or permission... I made a promise to her sister, and neither you, or Arya, or anyone, is getting in the way."

And with that, Sandor walked out the door.

Gendry felt he was gonna be sick.

He couldn't believe he had actually allowed himself to care for this girl. To actually think she cared about him.

_"I've got you" _his voice echoed in his head, almost like a nudge.

He felt his jaw clench as he shook his head.

"I won't let you go." he said out loud, repeating the same words he had promised her the morning she found out about her mother.

And he had meant it.

Even if she had left him, he still felt like he couldn't let her go. Not now. Not like this. Not when there was people after her.

"Fuck." he whispered in disbelief as he scrambled through the room collecting all their belongings and running out the door.

It was snowing when he walked outside, and a police car pulled in front of the hotel lobby.

_Shit!_

His thoughts went straight to the man in the alley. Dead. The man he had killed.

There was still a pinkish stain on his jeans.

He avoided even glancing over at the officer as the man stepped out of his vehicle. Gendry walked past the police car, his eyes sweeping the area for a car.. a taxi.. someplace he could go into... anything!

Thats when he saw Sandor, leaning into the open window of a truck, speaking to the driver.

The old man had a confused grimace on his face, and the way Sandor was waving his hands around as he spoke, Gendry could tell they couldn't understand each other.

The man shook his head, and said something, to which Sandor nodded and ran around the truck to the passenger side, yanking the truck door open.

"Sandor!" Gendry called out to him.

Sandor turned, one foot already inside the truck.

They shared a quick look, before Sandor beckoned him over with a nod and Gendry ran the rest of the way to the truck.

"He's going to Paris?" was the first thing Gendry asked as he closed the passenger door after him.

"Le Mans" the man answered in a thick French accent.

Gendry and Sandor shared a look, and Sandor shrugged.

As the car moved forward, and they drove by the hotel where one of the employees was already leading the police officer into the alley, Gendry closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against the cold window. And as much as he tried to push it aside, he couldn't help but feel... as they were driving up the street, away from the hotel, out of the city, and down the snowy motor way... that they were driving away from Arya, rather than towards her.

"So what made you change your mind?" Sandor's voice boomed on his right.

Gendry sighed deeply, fogging the glass under his nose.

"Yea." Sandor said, in a surprisingly sympathetic voice. "I know." he sighed, longingly. "I know."

And Gendry realized then, that they weren't so different, he and Sandor.

And that thought...well, it scared him.

xxxxxxxxxx

The phone rang twice before someone picked up. It was Alicia.

"Alicia. It's Robb!"

"_Robb!"_ the girl cried out in anger. _"Where have you been Robb? Why haven't you answered your phone!?"_ she demanded.

Robb closed his eyes as he swallowed down the knot that had formed in his throat.

Tears were already burning their way through his closed lids.

"I..." he began, but was cut off by Alicia's hysterical sobs.

_"We heard about your mother."_ she managed. _"Robb... your grandfather.. he's not well. And Bran..."_

"How's Bran?" Robb interupted, wiping his tears on his sleeve.

_"Why did you have to leave him?"_ Alicia asked instead, sniffing loudly.

Robb took in a deep breath. "Alicia... Listen to me."

_"he's just a boy. "_ the girl whispered, as if lost in her own thoughts. _"He doesn't have to be this brave."_

Robb clasped his hand over his mouth as he began to weep silently to himself. In his minds eyes, he could see Bran.

Brave, stoic Bran. With only his eyes to betray his sadness.

Alicia was right. He didn't have to be so brave.

Not when they told him he would never walk again, or when mother told him about father's death.

Robb took in several deep breaths, calming himself. He needed to be the strong one. For Bran, and for Arya and Rickon. And Sansa.

"Alicia," he managed thickly, clearing his throat. "I need you to listen. This is very important, and I need you to calm down and _really_ listen. Will you do that?" he asked slowly.

He could hear Alicia on the other side of the line, composing herself, and even though he felt restless to tell her what he needed to, he decided he'd give her all the time she needed.

He needed her calm, and he needed her lucid.

_"Tell me."_ she said after a few moments.

Robb cleared his throat again, inhaling deeply. "Alicia... i think Bran and grandfather are in danger." he said, expecting the girl to start panicking.

_"I do too."_ she confessed. _"What do I do Robb?_"

Robb sighed in relief. Those were exactly the words he needed to hear. Not what he expected from the young girl. But what he needed.

"You get them out of there. As soon as you can. The less they know, the better. Especially grandfather."

_"He won't have it Robb."_ she began to argue, but Robb cut her off.

"Don't take no for an answer. He loves you Alicia. He'll listen to you... I know you can do this."

Robb heard her sigh. _"Where to?"_

"As far as the weather allows." Robb could feel the weight of the last two days being lifted off his shoulders.

_"Alright."_ Alicia said in a small, but determined voice. "_I'll do it. I'll do it Robb."_

"Thank you." Robb whispered sincerely.

_"Robb. . ."_ her voice broke off, _"I think.. I think you should talk to Bran."_

Robb nodded, but then realized she couldn't see him. "Put him on." he rasped out.

He heard as Alicia set the phone down, and he heard her footsteps as she walked away from the phone.

He could feel his throat begin to tighten, and his palms begin to sweat.

The last time he'd seen and spoken to Bran, he had made him promises that he now feared he may not be able to keep.

Robb felt so small, and so powerless.

When he'd been welcomed at Sheffield Saturday morning with the news of his mother plastered all over the media, at the station... on the front page of newspapers... He'd felt the ground under his disappear.

He'd spent two days at a pub after that, drinking one drink after another, his eyes glued on the television that hung over the bar.

And every shrivel of strength he had left gone.

"_Robb."_ said a small, sad voice on the other end of the phone.

Gooseprickles filled his entire body.

"Bran." he said.

And the silence that followed was deafening.

Robb could hear the accusation with every second that passed without a single sound.

He wasn't sure if it was Bran who was accusing him, or himself.

"I'm so sorry Bran. I'm so sorry I left you," he pleaded in hysterics, tears rolling down aggressively down his cheeks. "I'm so sorry I've failed mom."

_"Robb! Robb." _Bran cried sternly over the phone._ "There is nothing, to forgive Robb." he said soothingly._

Robb shook his head in awe.

Bran had always been so... incredible.

_"Robb?"_ the small boy called.

"I'm here." Robb sniffed.

_"Have you... have you talked to Sansa?"_

Robb's brows furrowed. "No..."

"_She called, the morning mother... Alicia lied to her, told her I was with you."_

"Why would she do that?"

_"Because I asked her to."_ Bran said calmly.

Robb felt something wasn't right. "Why would you do that Bran?"

Bran exhaled into the phone before he spoke again, and Robb was already preparing himself for whatever it was his little brother was about to tell him.

_"Because I remember."_ Bran said sullenly. _"I remember everything."_

xxxxxxxxxx

Petyr put the phone down quietly on the reciever as soon as he heard Robb hang up on the upstairs line.

He hurried into his study, leaving the door open, and punching in the phone number he'd memorized last night into his mobile.

He sat on his large desk chair and and waited for an answer.

Robb could be heard walking down the stairs.

_"Yes?"_ Cersei answered.

"We need to meet. Urgently." Petyr told her casually.

_"I can't."_ Cersei said in an irritated tone.

"Find a way. It's important."

_"Whatever it is, I'm sure it can wait!"_ she snapped viciously.

Robb peeked his head into the room, knocking on the door twice.

Petyr smiled at him, and beckoned him in. "Trust me." he said into his phone, "It can't."

Robb sat himself on the leather chair infront of Petyr's desk.

_"I wouldn't trust you, if you told me the sun was round."_ Cersei croaked.

"Silversmith's, in an hour." Petyr said, and he ended the call before she could answer.

"How are you?" he asked Robb with a warm smile.

"Better. Was that one of your contacts?" Robb asked.

"Yes. I'm meeting her in an hour."

"Shouldn't I come?" Robb suggested.

Petyr shook his head. "I'm testing her first. I need to know that i can trust her, and I think it's safer if you stay out of sight. For a while."

Robb nodded. "Yes."

Petyr turned to a drawer and pretended he was looking through some papers, waiting for Robb to tell him about what Bran had said to him.

"I... called Bran." he said after a few moments.

Petyr looked up from the drawer. "Oh, how is he?" he asked with mock concern.

"Taking it better than I expected. I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or not."

"He's always been a strong boy. All of you Stark children are." Petyr told him casually as he rose from his chair and closed the drawer. "I should be on my way, then. Help yourself to anything you need. The refrigerator is well stocked, even if I am an old bachelor." he smiled as he walked around the desk.

"Thank you, again. For everything." Robb stood.

Petyr patted the boy's shoulder twice, before walking out into the hall way.

_He isn't going to tell me. He knows about Cersei and Jaime, and what they did to Bran... and he isn't going to tell me. _

"I'll be back soon." he called back as he grabbed he slipped into his coat and grabbed his keys.

He opened the front door and turned to Robb one last time, nodding at the boy before stepping out into the cold.

_He doesn't trust me after all. _

_Good. _

As soon as he arrived at Silversmith's he ordered a drink and waited patiently for Cersei to arrive.

He felt a thrill run through him at the thought of everything that had fallen into his lap when that Stark boy had rang his door bell.

Now he just had to be smart about how he used the gained knowledge and information.

Cersei was a beautiful, very elegant woman, with too much presence and a smile that rarely reached her eyes, yet fooled most.

Most.

The woman that walked out of the cold and into the restaurant was not half of the Cersei he knew.

She looked thinner, tired and on edge.

She wore all black, and her face looked washed out, despite the makeup.

As soon as she sat down, she called the waiter and ordered a drink.

"Cersei. You look positively dreadful."

She glared up at him from behind her drink.

"Is it Robert that's given you long sleepless nights? How is he doing?" Petyr asked.

Cersei blinked back. Her eye lids were puffy. "This isn't a social call." she muttered out weakly.

Petyr smiled. "Just trying to be friendly."

Cersei sighed. "Doctors say there's not change in his vitals."

"Well, it's only been a week. Robert's a strong man, he'll make it out of this, I'm sure." Petyr offered casually.

He couldn't get over how terribly agitated Cersei looked.

"Has it really only been a week?" she asked with genuine surprise.

"A week and two days since_ the_ night."

Cersei pressed two fingers into her left temple, taking another sip of her drink. "What did you call me here for?"

"How are your children taking it? Your brother? How is Jaime. Haven't seen him in quite some time now?" Petyr asked instead, ignoring her question.

Cersei's eyes were fixed on him, and when he finished talking, she smiled. "I'm ready to walk out of here if the next thing that come out of your mouth isn't the reason why you've dragged me here for."

"Robb... Stark." Peryt pronounced the name carefully and smiled at the sight of Cersei's eyebrows shooting up in her forehead.

_This was going to be fun_

xxxxxxxxxx

They arrived at Le Mans a little after 11 in the morning, and the old man, who had chattered on in his broken English most of the ride, dropped them off at a small corner restaurant, so they could have breakfast.

After the hours spent on the road with that chatter box of a man, Sandor felt relieved to finally be allowed to think.

Gendry didn't seem in a mood to talk, and Sandor was grateful for it. He was honestly tired of the boy and his need to over think everything. He should have left the moment he knew the Stark girl had run off. There was no doubt he would have been better off on his own.

But alas.

They both ordered squash soup and two coffees. Sandor pulled out his flask, pouring the rest of it contents into his coffee.

He turned to glance up at Gendry.

The boy looked distracted, staring stupidly at the bowl in front of him.

He imagined Gendry was beating himself up mentally over Arya leaving.

Being completely honest with himself, Sandor thought that Arya would have left whether he had been awake or not. She was a headstrong, stubborn little firecracker.

Not at all like her sister, the little bird he left back in that cage.

He sighed, pushing the thoughts of her aside.

Remembering her only made him remember that he had not yet kept his promise to her. He still had no clue where the youngest Stark could be.

He'd been very lucky with Arya and he feared that he wouldn't have the same luck with the boy.

It nearly made him want to give up. Just drop everything and be on his way...

It was Sansa, and Sansa alone who kept him from doing just that.

_And for what? What will you gain from it? Her love? You're a fucking fool if you think she'll ever see you that way._

It was this reality that made him want to push her out of his thoughts, and yet he needed to think of her whenever he felt like giving up.

It was a vicious cycle that was beginning to turn his insides to rot. Like a wound that wouldn't heal.

Sandor finished his coffee and stood from his chair, sickened by the warmth in the room and his thoughts.

Gendry's eyes snapped up suddenly, and he stood too, dropping his napkin on the table and shouldering his bag.

The icy air quickly helping with the nausea that was threatening to start. He looked around, deciding on how they'd get out of this place, when Gendry let out an exasperated sigh to Sandor's left.

"Well," Gendry said, zipping up his jacket and turning up the collar. "I'm tired of being civil." he muttered out, his breath rising in a pale puff.

He slipped a hand into Sandor's coat, and came out with the knife, running across the street, towards a white car.

Sandor was surprised to feel a smile creep into his face as he watched Gendry jimmy the car door and sit himself on the seat, reaching below the wheel.

Looking to both sides, Sandor sped walked over to the car, which Gendry had already started.

He knocked on the window twice, and Gendry reached over to unlock it.

"Better get us out of here." he said as he closed his door behind him. An old woman was already staring, hand clamped over her mouth as the younger woman besides her held a phone up to her ear.

"Now!" Sandor growled, and Gendry stepped on the gas, moving them forward.

He kept his eyes on his side mirror until they left the city behind them, and he was almost certain no one was following.

"Where did you learn to do that?" he asked as he reached besides Gendry's seat for his knife, snapping it close.

"A friend. A long time ago. He used to steal cars. I would sometimes tag along, and help."

"And now you're a cop."Sandor said sarcastically. Hypocrites! All of them!

"You're one to talk. You used to be that Joffrey kid's bitch... and now... now you're helping Sansa."

Sandor gritted his teeth at that, feeling the rage snake in the pit of his stomach.

"Even _you_ grew tired of doing the wrong thing." Gendry said somberly.

"It's exhausting. Even when doing the right thing takes more work. You, still feel a sorta satisfaction... knowing you've done something good for someone, without expecting anything at all in return... It all, well, it pays off in the end."

"I'm sure Ned Stark didn't do anyone a single wrong his whole life... he always did the right, honorable thing... and what a reward that brought to him." Sandor said sourly.

No idiot boy was going to tell him the being good always paid off. Not when he saw how evil fiends like the Lannisters prospered and lived happily, while the Starks were's torn apart and destroyed more each day.

Everything was all a farce.

"What happened to Ned... it won't go unpunished." Gendry let out in a determined tone.

Sandor almost laughed.

He had to give him props for his spirit.

"Who knows..." he said to him, and turned to look out the window.

He had always liked the snow. Ever since he was a child.

This year though, the snow brought something dark, almost aggressive with it, that it made Sandor anxious.

He turned to Gendry, about to ask him how much gasoline the car had in it, when he saw the boy quickly wipe a tear off his face with the back of his hand.

Sandor looked away, and out the window again.

"They sure..." he cleared his throat, bashing at himself mentally for getting this fucking emotional. "They sure get under your skin... don't they?"

At first there was no answer, and Sandor felt like a fool for saying anything at all.

His insides were turning soggy. All because of that Stark girl...

Bloody asking him to fetch her siblings for her, softening him up... him, who killed for pleasure...

"Yea..." Gendry said softly besides him... almost to himself. "Yea. They do." he whispered.

And the ache in his voice made Sandor clench his jaw as hard as he could, casting aside the feelings that were beginning to stir.

_What the fuck is wrong with you?!_

"Thank you." Gendry mumbled out sincerely, and Sandor felt his face twist in anger at that.

"I'm not doing it for you." he barked out.

He would skin Gendry alive right now for a drink. These days it's the only thing that kept him sane.

Drinking.

"What was she like?" Gendry asked after a long moment of silence, and Sandor didn't have to ask him who he meant.

Sandor turned to the window again, choosing to ignore the question.

"I only met her once. At the station." Gendry continued.

Sandor grunted, closing his eyes. "When people first notice my burns, they look away, and never look me in the eyes again... It's easier for them that way, to just look the other way. I'm sure they lie to themselves and say they do _me_ a favor." he paused, a spasm of anger swelling in him.

He exhaled sharply. "Sansa..." she began again, ignoring the thrill that ran through him when he spoke her name out loud. "She was the first person not to look away. The way she looked at me... It was as though I didn't even have a scar. Like she could see past the scar."

He closed his eyes.

"She always saw the best in people. Even sick monsters like Joffrey, or myself."

"She sounds like her father." Gendry said with a small smile.

Sandor let out a harsh laugh. "It made me almost hate her for it." his hands rolled into fists. "I felt torn between wanting to punish her for her faith in me and wanting to be worthy of it."

Gendry stole a quick glance his way, before turning to the road again. "If she's anything like Arya, she'd no fool... I don't think she put her trust on the wrong person."

"She's nothing like Arya." Sandor snapped, finding himself annoyed, rather than comforted by Gendry's word. "Stop at the next store or gasoline station you come across. I need a drink."

Gendry nodded, and said nothing more.

At first Sandor felt grateful.

But then his thoughts found their way back to Sansa, and he almost started small talk with Gendry... but he allowed the thoughts to take over. And he let his memories take him back to the afternoon it all happened.

_Sandor had furiously stepped on the gas, feeling the rage inside consume him._

_He had been such a fucking fool to believe she'd come with him. That she'd trust him with her life. _

_Part of him wanted to look back. It ached to, but he didn't. He kept his eyes forward. _

_"Fuck!" he yelled, giving in and tearing his eyes from the road ahead of him to look at the rearview mirror. _

_His stomach made a flip when he saw she was running towards the car. He stepped on the brakes, his body thrusting forward from the sudden stop. _

_Swiftly, his turned the car to reverse, and he was driving backwards, still not believing what was reflected in the mirror. _

_He came to a stop right besides her, rolling the window down on her side. _

_She was rosy faced from the run and the cold, hugging her sides and catching her breath. "I.." she managed to breath out, and it was all he needed to hear. _

_He turned to the buttons on his door, and unlocked her door. "Get in." he said to her._

_And when he saw her close his eyes against his words, he felt a stab in his chest. _

_"I can't." she sobbed out. _

_Sandor heard a growl rise from his throat as he turned the car to "drive"._

_"Wait!" she said, before he could step on the gas. And he did. _

_Of course he did. _

_"Don't have a lot of time, Little Bird." he added so much acid to her nickname this time, hoping she would take it as an insult. "Spit, it, out!" he said icily. _

_But like always, she didn't seemed to fear him, and she leaned forward, feeding her head into the window. "Maybe you can't help me. But maybe you can help my brother. And my sister."_

_"What!"_

_"Arya. And Rickon. They're missing."_

_He couldn't believe she was asking him for this._

_He shook his head. "The police are already..." he began, but he cut her off. _

"_The police? The same people that were there for my father? The police aren't doing anything, and you know it?"_

_"I'm sorry. I can't." he let all the anger inside of him, leak out with those words. _

_"You were willing to take me to my family. What's the difference between helping them and me. They actually need you!"_

_"I don't even know where they are!" he yelled. "You don't know where they are!"_

_"They're headed for Spain. I know it. Our grandfather lives near Barcelona."_

_Sandor shook his head. "Why don't you go to your mother, and you help her find them yourself? Why do you stay here? With Joffrey? Why do you love him?!"_

_Sansa shook her head at that. "I don't love him..." she said, and Sandor felt all the anger in him slowly begin to drain. _

_"But i loved my father, and this family is responsible for what happened to him. And I will do everything in my power to unmask every single one of them."_

_Realization dawned on Sandor then. This was for her father. She was staying behind, and enduring for her father._

_He sighed, closing his eyes and jeering himself mentally for what he was about to say next. _

_"Then I'll find them, Little Bird." this time, he poured out all his heart in her nick name. "I promise, I will find them."_

**AN**

**Well, Sandor is a very difficult character to write. And to be completely honest, this was a difficult chapter to finish because of it. But I really think this was the best moment to squeeze him in. Readers needed to finally know what happened with Sansa.**

**I've had a heavy week, and I apologize for the very late update.**

**It is now, 12 28 am, and i still have homework, and i work tomorrow, so I just skimmed though this. Sorry for any bac grammar. Ill come back and correct it tomorrow, I promise.**

**I still need to clean up all the chapters, so expect that soon, for anyone of you who is interested in re reading everything. I know I like to do that with longer fanfics to re fresh.**

**Next chapter will finally have Brienne and Arya. We'll finally find out where the hell she is. As always, you're all so wonderful, and you are the reason this story is alive and kicking!**

**My love goes out to you all!**


	24. Chapter 24

Being back in Paris felt almost surreal. He'd been here, in this same station, with Arya almost a week ago.

The wave of emotion that hit him as he remembered that day, and how he'd been running with her, rather than after her, made him want to him something.

_Almost a week ago_.

They we're on their way to find Arya's family. Trying to remember the exact moment they became sidetracked was almost as exhausting as trying to keep himself from hitting something.

Those days he'd spent with her had merged into each other in his mind's eye, so that they felt like one big giant blob of snow, and faces, and trains, and running, and fear... and somewhere in there, mixed with all the chaos, were his growing feelings for Arya.

Those too, were too difficult to trace back to their root.

He wasn't sure when she stopped being simply that Stark girl. His boss' daughter... pain in the ass Arya, with her endless need to vandalize and destroy and resist his attempts to arrest her... and when she's become Arya. That strong girl that still drove him crazy, only a different kind of crazy.

_When did I start calling her beautiful? _

She'd always been beautiful.

The first time he arrested her, and pulled back her black hoodie, he took in a breath at the sight of her large, gray eyes. So wild and full of anger.

But he wasn't sure when she became beautiful in his eyes.

Was it the first time he saw her eyes... or the first time he saw her smile at the gym, when she had been ready to wrestle him.

Perhaps it was when he arrested her that second time, and she realized it was him, again, and her eyes had twinkled with the challenge.

Gendry shook his head, trying to make himself think of something else... someone else, and still fighting the urge to hit something. He leaned forward, closing his eyes and taking in deep breaths.

Sandor, who was sitting next to him, was too busy keeping an eye on everyone, and thankfully didn't notice anything.

They'd hidden the car they stole in an alley and had taken a cab to the train station.

When Gendry had told Sandor they'd have to dump their guns before they walked in, his thoughts trailed to Brienne.

"I have to make a phone call!" Gendry had walked ahead of the man in search for a phone.

"To who?" Sandor had complained.

"A friend. She's suppose to help us with the will. We were suppose to meet her."

"There's no time. We have to find Arya."

"Yes we do, but this is important too. And by doing this, I can find that Cersei woman, and finish this once and for all. That helps Arya... It helps RIckon. It helps everyone."

And with that, he'd stepped in front of the public phone and begun feeding the coins in.

He had to try Brienne three times for her to finally pick up. When she did, she didn't speak.

"Brienne?"

_"Oh thank God Gendry! I thought you were someone else!"_

"Who?"

_"I.. I don't know. Everything's gone so wrong Gendry!"_

"Wrong how?"

_"Gendry... I've done something... Everything changed. I need you. I can't do this alone, Gendry. I don't know what I'm doing anymore!"_

"Brienne! Breath. Relax. What happened."

_"Too much. Renly... Ren...It's too much Gendry. It's too much._"

"Brienne. What happened?"

_"There's been a change of plans. You're more involved than I thought. I need you to meet me...I can't talk. I can't talk, I have to go back inside. I just came out for fire wood. You have to meet me here."_

"Brienne.."

_"Get something to write these directions with! I need you to come to me."_

Gendry opened his eyes, reaching into his pocket to pull out the wrinkled receipt he'd found in the wallet he'd stolen off the man back in Bordeaux. His messy writing on the back, with the directions to the cabin Brienne was in.

It had been so hard to convince Sandor this wasn't a trap, when he himself wasn't fully convinced.

_"I know this place." Sandor said, slapping the receipt onto Gendry's chest as he walked past him and towards the station. "It belongs to the Lannisters. It's a trap. They have your friend."_

_"NO! She's there, and she needs me. I know her. She would have done anything to hint me there was someone else behind this. She's a cop too. She sounded panicked, and scared, and that would have been the last thing she would sound like if this really was a trap."_

_"You're a fool if you believe that. We're not going!"_

_"I am going! " Gendry yelled, making Sandor stop in his tracks, turning to face him. _

_He was about to say something, but Gendry interrupted. "_

_You can go your own way if you'd like. Find Arya your own way; keep your promise. But I'm going to this cabin, and I'm going to help my friend, and we're going to find Arya... Because that's all I can handle right now, cause there is something else happening here. Something that involves me. And if it weren't for that girl, I don't know where I'd be, but I certainly would have lost it by now...Helping her, has kept me sane. Because this is insane, Sandor. This is mad. What the fuck is going on? Why is Ned Stark dead? How? Arya's family . . . Yoren. It's too much, and I feel I can't trust anyone, and I don't want to feel that. But nothing makes sense It's all so... wretched. . . . . But I'm going to find her. . . . I'm going to find her. Because it's the only thing that makes sense right now. It's all that really matter to me, and I'm not letting go of that."_

Gendry eyes trailed from the wrinkled piece of paper to Sandor's face. It was the side of his face that was clean. Not burns.

He still couldn't believe he was sitting next to him. Gendry really didn't expect him to come. Especially when he insisted it was a trap.

Whatever his reasons... Sansa, the promise, Arya and Rickon... Gendry couldn't help but hate that he felt relieved that he stayed.

xxxxxxxxxx

_He'd been 12 when he first noticed his sister's body begin to change. _

_The outline of a bra was now visible under her blouses and dresses, and the small swells on her chest we're growing more and more each day. _

_Their mother found them wrestling in the lawn once, Cersei was on top of him, each leg pinning down his arms, and she'd shrieked in horror, making his sister jump off him. _

_After that, they spent the most humiliating hour and a half listening to her talk about propriety, and sex, and their changing bodies. Jaime didn't really catch on right away. _

_Not until that night, when Cersei had snuck into his bedroom, and slipped into his bed, snuggling into his chest. _

_"Can you believe her." she had murmured against his night shirt. "To think you and I would ever do something so athrocious. We're twins!"_

_Realization had washed over him in a sickening way as soon as she had said that. _

_He loved Cersei, he loved her more than anyone in the world. She was the only person that truly understood him. She was the only person he could talk to, and be himself with. _

_There was no secrets between them._

_But he would never think about her in the way their mother feared. He didn't even think about any girls that way yet._

_"She'd just jealous Jaime." Cersei had said, looking up at him through her lashes. "They're all just jealous. . . They want to tear us apart because we have something special, you and I. You feel it too, don't you?"_

_He had merely nodded, wrapping an arm around her and digging his nose into her hair. Lavender. _

_She had always loved the smell of lavenders. _

_"Promise me Jaime!" Cersie had sprung from his chest, sitting and pulling him up so he too, had to sit. "Promise me you'll never let anyone come between us. . . nothing tear us apart."_

_He shook his head. "Never."_

_"You love me right?" tears had begun to well in her eyes. "We have something special, don't we? Something nothing and no one can ever destroy?"_

_"Yes." he had whispered out, pulling her into a hug. "Yes, I love you. We're special, sister. Nothing will ever come between us. Never._"

"Never." he whispered out, as the small little fingers of fiery pain dug into his flesh at each one of the burns in his back and chest.

"What did you say?" the Wench's deep voice asked from the door as she walked into the room, snow flaking her limp blonde hair and shoulders.

"Nothing." he snapped acidly as she bent near the fireplace, dropping the firewood she had in her arms.

She shrugged out of her thick jacket, and turned, walking up to him awkwardly, the rage and fire that had been in her large blue eyes the day before completely absent today.

This was definitely the first time she'd ever done anything like this, to anyone.

He would bet anything that she'd never even shot a person before. Even if she was a cop.

The way she was looking at him, it almost looked like she felt sorry for him.

She bent down on one knee before him, looking him straight in the eyes. "Are you hungry?" she asked, almost tenderly.

His brows twitched.

He'd been in so much pain, that he hadn't realized just how hungry he was. He had sick all over his pant from last night, when he began to cough up vomit in his fevered sleep, so he knew he was on an empty stomach, and that last meal he'd had was over a day ago.

"Yes." he answered her.

She nodded. "Good." she said in a small voice. "Are you ready to talk?"

Jaime smiled, beginnings to laugh, but he hissed out in pain instead.

"The sooner you talk, the sooner I can start treating your burns." she told him.

Jaime shook his head, his eyes closed tightly as currents of pain dug into him. "I'm never, going to talk. You're ... wasting your time." he managed to say.

"Time I have. What I no longer have, is flesh to burn... so I'll move to removal of body parts."

Jaime didn't believe her. She didn't have it in her.

"Why do you hate me so much?" Jaime chimed, meeting her eyes once more. "I don't recall ever doing anything to you."

"Renly is dead because of you. You and that..."

"I didn't pull the trigger."

"You just stood there!"

"I didn't just stand there when the gun was pointed at you. Did you forget that?"

"Well that didn't help Renly, did it." he saw tears in her eyes, but she wiped them off quickly, before they fell. He rolled his eyes.

"What was he to you, anyway? Just a roommate? He was gay, you know? Did you know that? We're you in love with him?"

The back of her hand hit him across the face, making his body slump to one side. The movement causing his back to scrape against the back of the chair, making his burns fire up with life.

His head hung as he closed his eyes, his chest began heaving as he began to cry with pain, which only cause him more pain.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand the meaning of friendship." her voice came from across the room.

He wanted her to shut up. Her voice somehow made the pain more potent. It gave him nausea.

_Cersei._

He repeated her name in his head, almost like a prayer. The only word, the only name that kept him strong.

The pain was still lacing deeper into his body though, perhaps deeper than when the skin had first been scorched, and he felt beads of sweat slide down limp tresses of his hair.

"The first time I met him, was in Psychology class. All the girls were crazy about him... But he picked me out of all the girls in the classroom to be his partner for a project. It was about planning out your wedding."

Jaime's eyes snapped open. The burns we're still throbbing, but he was able move, his neck once more holding his head up.

The wench had both hands resting on the mantel of the fireplace .Her arms were lean and slightly muscled, as she put her entire weight on them.

She was staring at the flames, lost in her memories. Her face glowing a soft orange from the fire.

She looked... beautiful.

The wood crackled almost pleasantly, and for a moment, Jaime almost lost himself in the beautiful melancholy of it all.

"Later I found out he only picked me because he thought I was a lesbian." she said, plucking him away from the moment, and once again, the pain was back. And the disgust towards her.

She turned away from the fire and towards him, chuckling bitterly to herself.

She _had_ been in love with him.

"We became inseparable after that. He was..."

"You never told him, did you?" Jaime asked curiously, though he knew the answer to the question. "That you weren't a lesbian... and later, that you were in love with him."

Her features quickly twisted from sadness to anger, answering his question.

"No. Of course you didn't. It was better to stay quiet, with your unrequited love... than to risk loosing him."

She took a few steps towards him. "Do not provoke me!"

Jaime laughed, ignoring the pain. "To what? To hurt me further? Go on! Go ahead then!" he yelled, completely changing his tone from humorous to daring. "Cut my fingers off! Cut my toes, Cut my hands... My manhood! I dare you Brienne! I want to see you take those tools, and cut me to pieces, little by little, and watch the look on your face as you realize that I won't tell you anything! I won't! Because I have a love too! And the love between a brother and his sister is stronger than any silly girl crush you may have had on Renly."

He felt five times stronger as soon as he finished talking, almost as if his own words had been a sort of pep talk.

To his disappointment, though, it faded away too quickly as soon as he noticed not even a flinch from Brienne at his words, when what he wanted most was to spite her.

He sighed, looking away from her blue eyes, and to the floor, hating the deflated feeling he was being left with.

"Water." he said, lifting his gaze once more to meet hers, deciding to use the last of the buzz he'd given himself. "At least water. It'll be useless to you if I'm dead."

"You can survive without water for three days." she said in an irritated tone, but she still walked towards the kitchen, and Jaime could hear her rummaging through the cupboards and the hissing sound of tap water filling a glass.

He tried to put all his weight on his legs, so see if he could hop over to the table, with hands tied to the chair and all, and grab something to cut his binds with.

But as soon as he moved, the burns began to throb.

She walked back into the lounge, with a glass of water in her hand, and at first, he though she would do something nasty, like pour the water on the floor and make tell him to try and lean down and lick lap it up... But to his surprise, she grabbed his face, careful not to brush against a burn he had in his collarbone, and she place the cup to his lips, tilting it carefully.

"Slowly." she said as he drank it in gulps, ignoring her, and relishing every mouthful, as the cool liquid slid silkily down his throat and into his ravenous stomach.

As soon as the last drop was in his mouth, he pulled away from the cup, giving himself enough time to utter his thanks before he smashed his face into hers, hearing a crunch as she fell back.

Pain shot through his head, and his burns seared, but he uttered his sister's name, draining every last ounce of strength from those six little letters, to lifts his legs off the floor, against all the pain he felt, and slamming them down on the large woman's head.

A gush of blood flew out of her mouth, or her nose, before she crawled away from him, and quickly stood, stumbling towards him dizzily.

Her body fell on him, exactly as he wanted. And just how he'd planned it, the chair caved under their combined weight and force, and though he felt like his chest and back were on fire, he also felt an overwhelming joy at the sound of the breaking wood as they crashed on the floor.

The adrenaline kicked in, and he was able to roll on top of her, pieces of the chair still clinging to his tied hands, as he used his head once more, crashing it against her face before he stood in a blur.

His body was tingling with either pain or ecstasy as he stumbled towards the front door, relishing the feeling of freedom.

With his back to the door, his tied hands unlocked and opened the door, the cold rush of air nearly knocking him back.

But he stepped out, and he started running.

He saw the distorted maroon Range Rover parked outside as he ran down the frozen slope in front of the cabin, and thought he should have taken the keys. And a knife to cut his binds...

But it was too late. Too late to go back. Too late for "should have" and "could have". He just had to run now. Even if every step ached more that the last, and if he was shirtless in the middle of the forrest.

The dark, cold forrest.

He had to run.

And he did. Downhill, occasionally, holding himself against a tree trunk to catch his breath, or himself from falling down. But then he would hear her, not far behind her, and he would push himself away from the tree with his shoulder and he would start running again, the forrest a dark green and white blur on all sides.

Brienne wasn't far behind him, and his pain, the cold, and the muddy snow that stuck to his boots slowed his down.

His head throbbed, and the forrest grew darker, and colder, and the ground below grew rougher, and before he knew it, he crashed fowards, the snow and freezing rocks digging into his burned chest, brining tears from his eyes once again.

Then he passed out.

xxxxxxxxxx

Arya opened her eyes a fraction, her gaze falling on a paint stained cement floor.

She could smell stale humidity. It dried her throat and lungs with each labored breath she took.

Her shoulders and chest were sore, and her wrists felt raw where the rope tied them together was digging into the flesh.

Looking around the room she realized she was in an old, abandoned looking basement... and that she was dangling from the ceiling by her tied wrists.

There was a ringing in her ears and a dull throbbing in her head.

The last thing she remembered doing was pulling into a parking lot.

She had left Gendry and Sandor earlier that morning...

or had it been yesterday...

Her thoughts were fuzzy and she had no idea were she was, and she began to panic, fussing with the rope, but it only bit deeper into her skin.

"Oh, you're awake." a voice came from behind her, and she heard a metal chair screech its protest as someone slid it backwards on the floor, and stood. "He'll want to know." the voice said, before the man left the room from an unseen door behind her.

She whimpered with panic as she tugged at the rope, ignoring the pain. But she felt too weak and sore, and nothing gave.

Behind her, two sets of footsteps walked into the room, and she took a deep breath, preparing herself for whomever she was about to face.

But she still couldn't stifle the shocked gasp she let out as the pale, thin. bald man came around to stand before her dangling body.

"You!" she breathed out, feeling tears of genuine fear burn her eyes.

"Yes, him." said the younger man that had first spoken when she woke up as he took his place next to Ilyn Payne.

Arya kicking, and setting her weight on the rope, screaming with rage, but still, nothing.

"As fiery and wild as she described you." the young man said with a smile.

Ilyn Payne remained stone cold and unimpressed at his side though.

"Come near me, and I'll..."

"Save your threats, silly girl..." the man yelled, walking up to her, and catching her feet with his hand as she tried to kick him. He tugged down, making the rope slice into the flesh of her wrist, and bringing a cry from her.

"It's very simple Arya. You tell us what we need to know, and he won't be forced to use anything in that table over there. " he turned to a table on the far side of the basement, drawing her attention to it. It was full of torture tools.

She closed her eyes with a whimper.

_This is it. It's my turn to die. To join mother, and father, and Jon._

"Look at me!" the yelled, grabbing her face roughly, and shaking it.

_Not without a fight. _

She kicked her legs hard, one foot connecting with the soft flesh of the man's stomach.

Not hard enough though, for he only let out a grunt before grabbing her shirt by the collar and ripping it open, exposing the sports bra she'd bought in Paris.

She moaned out in pain, the rope tugging at her wrist as the man finished ripping the shirt open.

"You shouldn't have done that." he said with a wipe of his sleeve on his forehead.

Arya's eyes were on Ilyn, who walked over to the table and picked up stun baton, bringing her chest to rise and fall rapidly as she began to hyperventilate.

_Be strong, Arya. Don't let them see your fear._

Ilyn's colorless eyes met hers, and she saw nothing there. She began kicking the air again, ignoring the pain around her wrists as she put her entire weight on them.

"Come on!" she yelled, daring Ilyn. "Come one!" she growled, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Ilyn had to only give the younger man a look for him to cross over to her, and hold her legs still.

At that, Ilyn crossed to her, the baton expanding in his hand with an electrical crackle.

She tried to kick, her only defense, but the grip on her legs was like iron.

There was a wiring noise, and the white electricity came to life on the shaft.

Arya could see her chest heaving with terror as the baton came inches away from her.

"Alright Arya... it' simple... tell us where Gendry is, and you won't have to get hurt."

"Huh?" Arya breathed out as her heart skipped a beat.

"I... I don't know." she lied, hoping they'd credit her shaky voice to her fear. "We parted ways... I don't know where he is."

Suddenly her whole body cramped as the tip of the baton connected with her side.

Her back arched and froze in place as her neck and shoulders twisted. She could hear a piercing screech, in her ears, and after the wires she felt twisting inside of her released her, and she slowly began to loosen up, she realized the piercing screech had been her screams.

Each breath she took in felt like sandpaper, and she closed her eyes against the light.

"I'll ask you again... Where is Gendry?"

Arya managed to shake her hanging head, blinking twice to see the baton hiss to life once more.

"Go to hell." she huffed out.

"Wrong answer, sweet cheeks." The man said as the baton came in contact with her side once again, this time lasting longer.

Her body recoiled, and her head hammered before she limped lifelessly from the rope, her heart drumming in her eyes and teeth.

"Ilyn is not a patient man, girl..." came a distorted voice from behind her at first, then from infront of her.

_This is how I'm going to die. _

"Is keeping this boy safe really worth your life?"

She could feel herself just about ready to talk again, and she took in a shaky breath before speaking again.

"You're going to kill me, and you still won't know. . . because _I_ don't know... and no amount of tasing will change that."

Ilyn clicked the baton off at that, pushing the wand back inside the handle as he walked to the table once more.

"That was the wrong answer too." the man next to her whispered as he released her legs.

She tried to kick him, failing, but he caught one of her legs in the air, and began unlacing the boot.

Her brows furrowed as she looked up, panicked, and saw Ilyn pick up what looked like a steel cigar cutter.

_ no no..._

Began to kick again, trying to free her leg, using all the anger and desperation that welled up inside of her as fuel.

"No!" she yelled as the man slipped her boot off and the her sock, exposing her toes, which she quickly curled in as she clenched her teeth stubbornly.

It made the man laugh as he tried to pull the toes apart with one hand, while trying to hold her kicking leg with the other.

Ilyn was beside him by then, and he shoved the man aside roughly, taking Arya's barefoot in his cold, dry hands, leaving her other leg in the iron grip of the other man.

Ilyn's lifeless eyes looked up at her inquiringly as he pulled her large toe up and slipped it in the cigar cutter.

Arya let out a shuddery breath, as she gathered enough saliva inside her mouth to spit out at the man.

But then there came a clatter from the other room, and all three of them turned to the door.

"Help!" Arya called, but Ilyn quickly dropped the cutters and slapped the back of his hand across her face before swinging it back against the other side of her face, this time with his palm.

Her neck gave, and she let her throbbing face fall. She could taste blood.

Suddenly there was a shot, and the lights went out. The man released her leg, and she swung softly from side to side, the only thing holding her up was the rope now. She had no more strength left in her.

She heard a gun cock besides her, and a shot rang instantly after that. There was shuffled footsteps on the floor, before two more shots rang in the air, one right after the other. From two different guns.

She heard heavy footsteps approach her, and an arm wrap around her waist, holding her up briefly as a cold knife slipped between her wrist and sawed carefully at the rope, until she felt her sore arms fall free of the rope.

"Put your arms around my neck. Can you do that?" came a gentle, accented voice near her ear, and she nodded while a hand guided her hands behind a neck while the other slipped under her legs, cradling her against a muscled chest.

"You should have never run away from me, _lovely girl_." was the last thing she heard, before she let herself fall into the dark.

xxxxxxxxxx

**AN**

**Sorry for the late update, and it's short too :(**

**I had to leave town on a family emergency, that's why it's so late... also, this was suppose to be a longer chapter, but when I came around to writing the second half of it, i was missing some bits i needed to look into... so i'll do my research tomorrow, and publish the second half as chapter 25**

**To all my readers and reviewers! ugh, i don't now how to tell you how much it means to me that you all read and take the time to review... youre all amazing!**

**kisses and hugs to you all!**

**So, Jaime is pretty wounded... (physically) and Gendry too (emotionally)**

**Arya, the little devil, ran away, and with good reason too, which I was suppose to write out in this chapter, but like I said, it'll be moved into chapter 25... only to fall into the hands of Ilyn Payne and she was tortured :( **

**but Jaqen is in the picture again, for those of you who didnt figure out it was him who came to her rescue... hopefully the "lovely girl" bit was enough to give that away.**

**Again, I apologize for any misspells, or if i wrote he instead of she, or any unclear bit... it's 3 am, and I should really stop writing this late so I get a chance to re read and clean up ( i have no beta) **

**Alas, I will re read tomorrow... Everything... and finally clean everything up...**

**Im in that kinda mood, and Ill take all of tomorrow afternoon to do that, cause I love you all and I want to give you a cleaned up version of this story.**

**I made a soundtrack for this story, so Ill have that link up in my profile... i even made this lemon colored poster as an "album cover"**

**Again, thanks to all of you, and special thanks to ChaChaFinesse who wrote me a lovely PM that just made my day...**

**Thank you darling!**

**Until tomorrow!**


	25. Chapter 25

Arya woke to sore muscles, under green tea scented blankets.

She was warm, and sleepy... and alone.

Her fingers twiched, and she stopped herself from sitting up to look for Gendry when she remembered.

She'd left him.

She'd left Gendry behind. There was no point in looking for him.

Her mind was fuzzy, and if it weren't for her aching body, she probably wouldn't remember she'd been so close to death at the hands of Ilyn.

"I'm sorry Gendry." she whispered out, the skin around a cut she had on her lip split open as she spoke.

She closed her eyes against the sting and stopped her mind, just clearing it of everything and everyone except him.

For just this one moment.

Just a dew seconds.

She would let herself think of him, before she had to go back to the chaos her life was.

"I'm sorry." she repeated inaudibly.

And she meant it.

She was sorry she had to leave him.

Leaving him had been the last thing she wanted to do... but it was either that or losing him.

Even as she thought it though, it felt stupid, and a lie.

_Liar._

She sat up with a pained groan, pushing Gendry to the back of her mind. Everything spun, and her head felt too heavy for her neck.

She felt drowsy. Almost drugged.

When the room stopped moving, she let her eyes wander around, examining her surroundings.

The bed she laid in was large and white, and the room even larger, and lit only by the dim light that bled in through the white curtains that ran along an entire wall.

There was not much in it. A black chest of drawers, and a large, black and white painting of someone's back and buttocks on the far wall, opposite the bed.

Gray walls. White oak floor boards. And an array of mirrors that served as a headboard.

Arya turned to stare at the thin girl in the mirror. Her hair was a mop of brown, uneven strands. Pinkish-red bruises ran along her cheekbones, and the cut on her lip was larger than she'd expected. She looked sad. Sad and angry.

Her features betrayed no emotion, but the anger could be seen in her eyes... like a flame at the back of the pupil, licking away at any other emotion there.

She licked her lip involuntarity, tasting the blood.

Her eyes fell to the raw, bluish rope burns around her wrists.

They were crusted with blackened blood, and Arya knew they would leave a vicious scar.

She pulled the covers off herself, about to jump out of bed, when she realized she was in nothing but her sports bra and knickers.

She caught a glimpse of two large bruises on either side of her ribcage before she pulled the covers around herself again.

"What the hell?" she said under her breath as she searched her mind for answers.

There had been a man. A man got her out of there...

_But who?_

Her eyes sweeped the room for her clothes, but they were nowhere to be seen.

She remembered Ilyn's man had torn up the boy shirt Yoren had given her, and her jacket and scarf set were probably still back there, in that basement.

Out in the hall someone placed something down on a counter, and she heard footsteps. _Where the hell am I? _

"Hello?" she called nervously.

Her eyes went crazy, darting around the room, but she found nothing that could be used as a weapon. They snapped to the door when she heard the footsteps stop and the door knob twist.

Arya gasped as the man stepped inside.

"You?"

"You're awake." Jaqen said with a smile.

"It was you!" she stated rudely.

His smile faded a fraction as he nodded his head once. "Indeed, lovely girl. You'd be dead if it weren't for me."

There was a hint of arrogance in his voice as he said the last.

"Where am I?"

"My house... in my bedroom... in my bed."

"You were following me."

He chuckled, walking to one end of the windows and pulling at a chord. The curtains split open. It was white outside. White with snow. Snow on the ground and snow falling from the sky. "Something like that." he confessed.

_Of course you were, how else would you know where I was?_

She remembered she was naked under the sheets.

"And you stripped me."

His smiled returned at her embarrassed tone. "I wanted you to sleep comfortably. I'm sorry."

He didn't sound the least bit sorry.

Arya pulled the sheets tighter around herself.

"I need pants, and a shirt." she demanded.

She could feel her face warming up at the realization that Jaqen had pulled her pants off, and that that he'd seen her in only her underclothes.

"Of course," he told her, amused, as he walked towards the back of the room, and in through two small swinging doors.

He walked out moments later, holding a blue dress, in her size.

"It's your size, I believe." he told her, placing the dress on the edge of the bed.

"I prefer my pants and one of your shirts..."

He nodded with a grin. "You'll find your pants in there." he pointed to the shuttered double doors he'd just come out of. "And you can choose whichever shirt."

He bowed his head slightly, and turned to walk out of the room, closing the door behind him.

She slipped out from under the covers, hissing out in pain as she ran across the room on her tip toes, and through the double door into a large closet.

Her jeans were folded over a white leather ottoman, one of her boots sat on the floor next to it.

She remembered Ilyn's man had taken off the other one, so that was probably left behind as well.

Jaqen had washed the jeans, or had them washed. The bruises on her torso made it hard for her to move, so it took her twice as long to slip into them.

She walked to the side of the closet that had nothing but shirts in it. They were all arranged by color. She reached for a dark maroon button up.

She had a hard time slipping her arms into the sleeve as well, and grimaced when the fabric brushed against the bruises.

When she walked out of the bedroom and down the hall to the large lounge, she found Jaqen in the kitchen, looking almost silly in an apron as he flipped an omelet gracefully in a pan.

The entire room seemed to be swallowed by his presence, so that he didn't fit at all in this scenario. Long reddish hair tied back. The sleeves of his light gray sweater pushed up. Black apron neatly tied onto his body with a neat bow.

He turned to her, his eyes settling first on her face, then on the shirt she'd picked.

"It's a good color on you." he pointed at the shirt with the spatula.

Arya looked down at the shirt. It hung halfway down her tighs. She'd rolled the sleeves up to keep them from touching her wrists.

"Sit." he said hospitably as he turned his back to her, and gave his attention back to the food he was preparing.

She sat on the bar, letting her eyes wander around the the large room. The marble bar was what separated the kitchen from the lounge, and, although it was a large house, and expensive from the look of it, and had a very bachelor-y feel to it, it seemed almost beneath Jaqen.

He placed plate infront of her, and insisted she try and make and effort to eat, but she felt nauseated after the first bite, so she just drank the coffee, feeling a bit bad about leaving the meal whole.

"I'll be honest. I thought I had you figured out," he said in his rich accent as he strolled across the room after he'd finished the dishes, and towards the wall made out of nothing but glass that overlooked snowy hills that didn't seem to end. "I never expected you to leave your _friend_ behind."

Arya took another sip from the mug, turning slightly on the stool to face him.

"I had to."

"Yes. You did. How did you manage to get caught by the Lannister man?"

Arya didn't know the answer to that herself. The more she tried to remember, the fuzzier the images became.

"Where were you going?" he asked when she didn't answer.

Arya turned to face Jaqen. "I was coming to you."

_"Get him out of here." Jaqen said, and the man from the couch walked up to Gendry, as did Lem._

_"No." Gendry protested. "Use me! I'm..." _

_But he didn't finish his sentence. Jaqen's man drove his fist into Gendry's stomach, knocking the air out of him. _

_"What are you doing?" Arya yelled, running towards Gendry's hunched body. _

_He tried to swing at the man, but instead got a blow to his face with the back of a gun. _

_"Stop!" Arya shrieked, running towards the man instead, and jumping on his back, her fists tight around his hair._

_"Get off me!" the man yelled, but she just pulled harder, driving her knees repeatedly into the man's back and ribs, until she felt someone grab her from behind. _

_Gendry was already being dragged out of the room by Lem and Anguy. _

_She turned to face Harwin, who had his arms around her and was pulling her off the man. She let go of the man's hair, dampening her anger enough to allow Harwin pull her off. _

_Someone was laughing, and when she searched the room, she realized it was Jaqen. _

_"Leave us." he dismissed everyone with a sweep of his hand. _

_"No, I'm leaving." she said, turning for the door. _

_"You won't." Jaqen said, his tone completely serious now. _

_"Stop me." she dared, determined to go find out if Gendry was ok._

_"He'll be fine. It was just a small hit on the head. We have business to discuss." he turned to Harwin. "I said, leave us."_

_"I have no business with you." she said, but she was no longer walking to the door. _

_Everyone left, the last person closing the door. _

_Jaqen walked to the back of the room, and sat on his chair. _

_"Gendry is Robert's son." he said casually, as if he were talking to a friend about a simple, meaningless matter. _

_Arya's entire body reacted to that._

_"His secret is safe. You should not worry."_

_She was about to deny it all, but he spoke first. _

_"I've been sitting on this information for over a year now. I know what news like this could do for me. Perhaps gain me a chance at a bribe. With the Lannisters. But that's not how I work. The conflict is between the Lannisters and myself, and I don't want to bring anyone into this messy situation."_

_"Then why do you need me?" _

_Jaqen smiled. "Like I said... you and I, Arya... We have more in common than you can imagine."_

_"I doubt that."_

_Jaqen chucked. "Firstly, we share the Lannisters as a common enemy. But there's something else..."_

"Arya?"

Her eyes snapped up to Jaqen, the memories pulling back into her minds like ocean waves returning to the sea.

"Are you alright?" Jaqen asked, with a tone of concern.

Arya looked down at the black coffee in her mug.

"You're still in shock." he said, walking away from the window, towards her.

"I'm fine." she told him.

"Maybe you should let me take a look at those bruises. I didn't want to before. Not until you were awake. But they need treating."

"I said I was fine." Arya wanted to stop feeling this drowsy and numb so she could leave. Coming to Jaqen was a mistake. She knew that now.

"Please." he insisted in a cool voice as he knelt infront of her, looking up at her with those piercing blue eyes. "Just a look."

Arya slid forward on the stool with a roll of her eyes, and slid her shirt up until the bruises were exposed.

Jaqen locked his hands together, and tucked them in between his knees as he leaned forward, inspecting the bruise with only his eyes. Arya could feel his breath fanning over her belly button, and she tugged the shirt down quickly, feeling uncomfortable with the proximity.

"You'll live." he said as he rose to his feet. He picked up her wrists with his hands, bringing them up near his face. "I have something for these." he told after a quick look, and he placed them back on her lap.

Arya closed her eyes, trying to will the drowsiness away.

When she opened them again, Jaqen was walking out of a room near the end of a hallway opposite the one that led to his bedroom. He was holding a black box. He placed it on the bar, sitting next to her. and opened it.

It was a first aid kit.

"Jaqen?" Arya said hesitantly.

"Hmm?" he pulled out a small brown glass bottle, turning it under the light as he squinted his eyes at the label in the back.

Arya bit her lip, taking a deep breath, feeling herself begin to think twice before she spoke.

_Stupid Gendry_. He had begun to rub off on her.

"Remember that thing you said . . . " she let out quickly, before she though better of it. "When we first met?"

"_I know about Gendry, but I've done nothing with the knowledge. What more proof do you need that you can trust me?"_

_"You could find some other way to get rid of the Lannisters. You're obviously a powerful man. You don't really need me. So then why use me? You say you want to help, but what's in it for you? How do you benefit from helping me?"_

_Jaqen rose from his chair, taking slow steps towards her, until he stood less than a foot away from her. She wanted to take a step back, but feared it would be misunderstood by him. That'd he'd think her to be afraid of him, so she stood her ground._

_Jaqen swept the room with his hand, looking around the room. "You see this place. These people; my workers, they know this man here." he places his hands on his chest. "as their Boss . . . But i have more than one face Arya. This man is many things... many men, and also, no one. To the Lannisters, this man was nothing but a seemingly harmless loan shark... to the woman that was here when you arrived, a lover... I have been so many things, and I've had so many faces... like the many facets of a gem. No face truer than the other. No face worth less than any of the others... All important. All making up the rock. _

_All humans are like that. Very few reach out to embrace that part of their humanity though..._

_Right now, the face I choose for myself, is the face of a friend. _

_Your friend. _

_I've been a wanted man for year... yet I've been here in plain sight. Not hidding. Not running. When a man is not driven by greed, or anger, or vengeance, or anything, that man becomes powerful. _

_I look up to no one. Give accounts to no one. I am the only one in control of my life, and I choose to live as many lives as I can, even when I've only been given one._

_That is what's kept me free all these years. _

_I have no weaknesses. _

_Being governed by no emotions has kept me free of weakness."_

_"Maybe that is your weakness." Arya said boldy, interrupting his speech. "To think you have no weakness can be your weakness."_

_Jaqen laughed at that._

_"There's more to you than meets the eye, Arya Stark. Far more..."_

"I said many things." Jaqen said, pulling out a gaze and a bandage wrap from the black box.

"The thing about _faces_..."

Jaqen froze, his eyes rising slowly to meet hers. "What about the faces?"

"I ... I want that."

xxxxxxxxxx

When he sent Sansa the flowers with the message:

_I'm sorry for your loss, PS 11._

he wasn't really hoping she'd figure out it out.

But when he arrived at the viewing platform in Parkwood Springs and saw her standing there, he almost wept with relief.

She was wearing all black, and hugging herself tightly, looking out at the city; her red hair the only color amongst the white sky above and white city below.

He stepped next to her, taking in the sight.

The city was alive. Moving. People going and coming, and living their lives. . .

He'd seen this view millions of times before. But his eyes saw everything different now. There was less color in the world, and it had nothing to do with the fact that winter was here, kissing the trees to sleep, and clouding the skies, stripping the city of it's color... but everything to do with his situation.

"I didn't think you'd figure it out." he spoke out, to the city, watching as his breath rose before him in a small white cloud.

"PS . . . . Parkwood Springs . . . . father brought us here all the time, it wasn't too difficult to solve." she said, almost sarcastically.

Robb nodded.

"Where were you?"

The question struck him, like lightning.

He turned his head away, trying to find the words to say.

"Where were you?" she repeated, turning to him and grabbing his arms, forcing him to face her. "Why weren't you answering your phone. Mother died days ago, so where have you been Robb?" she sniffed, letting her head fall, and tears began to roll down her cheeks.

Robb took her shoulders and brought her into his arms, wrapping them tightly around her.

"You're the oldest Stark. You're suppose to look after us... take care of us..." she whispered into his chest. "where were you?"

A single tear escaped his eye as he kissed the top of her head, taking in her scent. She'd missed his sister so much. He closed his eyes, feeling the rest of the tears come.

"I've been so alone. . . I'm caged... and I'm alone... and everything's gone so wrong Robb." she sniffed thickly, clutching his jacket in her white fists. "It's just... too much..."

Robb felt disgusted at himself.

He had wallowed in his own pain and loss, when he had a brother and a sister who needed him.

"They were the firm ground beneath our feet... and now their gone... and Rickon and Arya... why is this happening to us?"

Robb grabbed her face, pulling her back enough to look into her eyes. "I know why..."

She wiped a tear from her cheek, composing herself with a deep breath.

_There is so much of mother in her._

"I think I do too..." she confessed calmly.

"The Lannisters." Robb said hesitantly.

"The Lannisters." she agreed with a nod.

He sighed, relieved. He had feared the hardest part of this reunion would be to convincing Sansa that her beloved Joffery's family was responsible for what was happening to their family.

Now he felt silly for underestimating Sansa. There was something changed in her. She was stronger now, and there was steel and sharpness in her eyes.

With her by his side, he felt a strength ignite inside of him.

A strength that came from her.

From the name Stark.

From him.

And it had a voice.

It said, "the Lannisters will pay."

xxxxxxxxxx

The earth beneath him was moving as the wench dragged his body over the frozen ground; up the hill, and back to the cabin.

He cursed at himself for getting caught.

He had been so close. So close.

But he was too weak to fight now. His wounds were full of snow and dirt, and his limbs were numb, and there was nowhere to run to. Not in this cold and without a car.

He would let the wench drag him back to the cabin, and as soon as he was able, he would make a second attemp at running. This time, he'd take the keys.

There was no longer any feeling in his bare feet and he only hoped he didn't have frost bite.

His burns were more alive than ever; the pain snaking in aggressively. Throbbing. Cold. And merciless.

After climbing a steep slope, they came to a sudden stop, and his body fell to the floor as Brienne knelt on the ground behind a tree, her hold still tight on his arm.

They should have been by the cabin by now. He hadn't gone that far. He was about to ask her why'd he stopped, when she heard some voices.

He began to twist, trying to sit up, but Brienne tightened her grip on his arm, pulling him towards her and sitting him up herself.

They were less than 20 meters from the cabin, which was being ransacked by a couple of men. One was wearing a bright orange. _A little to conspicuous for thiefs...don't you think?_

The other was large and trollish, with a thick Scottish accent.

A large black van was parked behind Brienne's car.

"Who are they!?" Brienne demanded in a hushed tone, squeezing his arm.

"I don't know." he said, trying to count the men. There was two outside, but there was also a voice that came from inside.

Jaime noticed they weren't stealing anything. Just trashing the place.

This could be a way out... or a way to get in deeper than her already was.

_"Boss!"_ a voice called from inside. That makes three. Three men. _"Take a look at this."_

The man in the orange jacket walked back inside, while the troll lifted a metal pipe he'd been using to break the cabin windows, and smashed it on the Land Rover's windshield.

"Shit!" Brienne breathed out besides him.

"Where's your gun?" Jaime asked her.

"In there."

"You were chasing me without a weapon. What if I had tried to kill you?"

"Be quiet!" she whispered, slamming her palm angrily against the tree trunk they were hidding behind.

A branch cracked overhead, and a large clump of snow suddenly fell, landing on his back.

The pain was blinding, but Brienne was quick to slap her hand over his mouth before he could manage a decent snarl.

The sudden movement made her knee loose grip on the snow she was kneeling on, making her fall on her face and slide down the slope.

Jaime attempted to help her, but since his hands were tied behind his back, all he managed to do was slip himself, sliding down the snowy slope, and crashing next to Brienne.

_"Who's there!"_ the troll carried down to where they lay on the snow.

Jaime glanced over at Brienne out of the corner of his eye.

_"Boss! Nick!"_

Brienne lurched to her feet, grabbing Jaime by the arms. "Get up!"

"You there! Who the fuck are you?"

Jaime and Brienne both turned up to the trees, where troll stood, pipe still in hand. Brienne lifted Jaime off the snow, letting him lean against her.

He felt his legs shake, threatening to give up under him. "I might ask you the same question." he barked up at them in his most intimidating voice. "That's my property you're destroying."

But being half naked, with both hands tied behind his backm and a raw back and chest, he knew he was doing an outstanding job at having the opposite effect.

Troll man began to walk down the slope, careful not to slip, and the orange jacket and a blonde man in all black came into view at the top of the hill. "Who's that Marc?" Blondie called down.

"He's a Lannister." Troll replied as he tossed the large metal pipe aside and pulled his gun out.

"A Lannister." orange jacket repeated stupidly. They were both walking down towards him and Brienne now as well.

"Yes." Jaime called up. "Was enjoying a romantic small getaway with my wife. So why don't you just be on your way, and I won't be forced to press charges" he tried to smile, tightening his tight hand around the first thing he found to keep himself from falling. It was Brienne's wrist.

Surprisingly, the wench didn't pull away.

"Romantic." Blondie said once all three men had reached the bottom of the hill. They circled them, stading several feet away from Brienne and him. Troll's eyes fell on Jaime's chest.

"She's kinky. . ." Jaime smirked.

His legs were about ready to give in. "But a tigress in bed."

The three men before them burst into laughter, and Jaime's grin widened. He felt Brienne tense next to him, and he tightened his grip around her wrist, to both, try and relax her, and to keep himself balanced.

_This is not the time to be shy, Brienne. We're trying to sell something here._

From the story Brienne had told him earlier, he had come to the conclusion that she was a virgin, and that she had never had a boyfriend. She'd known Renly since sixth form, and they had remained friends ever since.

If she had been in love with him all those years, he doubted she'd ever gone on dates, or even had a boyfriend. Perhaps male friends, but no lovers.

He just couldn't picture her as the dating type, to be honest. There was nothing romantic about her.

"Now, that's a load of bull shit! You're Jaime Lannister. That's a truth. But you ain't got yourself a wife. So why don't you tell us, what's really going on here, love. She have you here by force? We saw there was a struggle inside. And the table with the tools." said the man in the orange jacket.

Jaime searched his mind for another lie, but he was in too much pain to think properly. He decided he'll just tell the truth. What did he have to lose, anyway?

He nodded.

The man in the orange jacket, signaled to both of his men at that, and the other two began to walk towards towards Brienne and Jaime.

"If you know I am a Lannister, then you know it would not be smart to hurt me. You know I have money. You know who my father is. My family is looking for me, right now!"

"Stop." the man in the orange jacket called, and both of his men stilled where they stood. "You're right. You're quite right. Boss' only instructions were to fuck this place up. He never considered the place to be vacant this time of year, but I'm sure he'd oppose to having any harm come over the Lannisters... You may leave." he turned to the troll. "Take the girl."

"Don't touch me!" Brienne warned them, pulling her wrist free of Jaime's grip, nearly making him fall, but he caught himself.

The troll to a step towards her, about to grab her, but Brienne grabbed him by the arm and pull him towards her, lifting her knee into his stomach.

Jaime took an involuntary step back, jaw dropped in a shock.

Blondie quickly grabbed Brienne from behind, while troll recovered from the hit. Brienne began to struggle with Blondie, but troll was already walking towards them, and the man in the orange jacket, perhaps realizing Brienne was stronger than she seemed, walked over to pick up the pipe troll had tossed aside, and when Brienne had both men on the floor, swung it against the back of her head, knocking her to the floor.

"Why don't you be on your way now," he turned to Jaime with a smile, pulling out a pocket knife from his jacket. "And let us finish our job... be sure to tell your father that Jaqen sends his regards."

"Jaqen?"

"Yes. And about your payment to us...don't worry. We'll find you."

"Payment?"

"Your freedom must be worth something."

Jaime nodded, as he turned on wobbly legs, so that his tied hands were facing the man.

The knife wasn't too sharp, and it too a while for the man to sawhis way through the binds. The soreness Jaime felt as his arms fell forward after days of being tied back in the same position, felt almost orgasmic.

Blondie and Troll were already dragging Brienne up the snowy slope, her short blonde hair soaked in blood.

Jaime couldn't help feeling sorry for her. But if he bargained for her freedom, he would just become her prisoner once more.

It was better her than him.

When they reached the cabin, Troll took the pipe from the man in orange and beat the spiderwebbed windshield off the Land Rover while the rest of them walked into the cabin.

Jaime slipped his swollen, frozen feet into his shoes, and slipped into his coat.

He stole at quick glance over to Brienne, whom they'd thrown at the center of the main room. Blondie was tying her hands behind her back.

"Will you hurt her?" Jaime asked the man in orange as he grabbed her car keys off the table.

"What's it to you?" he replied as he walked over to Brienne, kicking her leg to grab her attention.

"Say good bye to your little torture toy." he told her, and she looked up at Jaime with genuinely fearful eyes.

Jaime looked away quickly, heading out the door before she could stir more feelings inside of him.

He slipped into the car, grunting as he leaned back on the seat.

Brienne screamed from inside the cabin, and his skin filled with goose prickles.

He closed his eyes.

_Get out of here, Jaime. Just get out of here now. _

He lifted the keys to the ignition with trembling hands. "Fuck me." he whispered, shaking his head at himself as he finally managed to feed the key in and start the car.

He turned the gear to reverse, avoiding the van carefully as he backed up until he felt hidden from view.

He turned the car off, walking to the other side of the cabin and punching in the numbers on the garage lock,

The door slid up, and he walked in, taking in the sight of all of his father's weapons.

He walked towards a rifle, but then thought better, and reached for a gun, pulling it off the rack, and then walked towards the cabinet on the side of the garage, pulling the door open and searching for the proper ammunition to load it.

The men could be heard laughing as he walked around the cabin, towards the main entrance, both hands pointing the gun forward.

If Cersei ever found out about this, he would never hear the end of it.

This had to be the stupidest thing he had ever done.

_What the hell are you doing Jaime?_

"I wish I knew." he whispered to himself as he reached the door, and flattened his back against the wall outside.

_"Let's see what's under this shirt..." _Blondie said, and Jaime heard the sound of cloth tearing.

Suddenly, Brienne was growling furiously, and Jaime heard Blondie scream.

_"She bit me! The wench fucking bit me!"_ he yelled, and Jaime smilled, oddly proud of Brienne, and pushed himself off the wall and stepped in through the door.

"Her name, is Brienne." he said, pointing the gun at Blondie first, pulling the trigger. A bullet shot into his chest. Troll reached for his gun, but Jaime had already turned to him, and pulled the trigger twice, putting two bullet holes on the man's forehead.

Both men collasped back on the floor, their blood quickly pooling around them.

When he turned to the man in orange, he held his hands in the air, in surrender. "I have heard, a Lannister always pays his debts . . . How will you pay _your_ debt to a dead man." he asked Jaime.

Jaime laughed at that.

"You said you'd collect my freedom's worth... well, I've done too much in my life to deserve to be a free man."

He pulled the trigger, and watched as red blossomed on the man's orange jacket, right above his heart, before he fell, first to his knees, then forward, on his face.

Jaime sighed, letting his hand relax as he turned to Brienne.

Her hands and feet were tied together behind her, so that her back curled backwards awkwardly. Her white shirt and bra had been ripped open, revealing her breasts, and the bandage near her shoulder. _That's where Cersei shot he_r.

His eyes fell on the two small peaks for a moment before he averted his eyes to her face.

She was red, but Jaime didn't know if it was from the blows she received, or if she was blushing.

He picked up her coat from the floor and drapped it over her shoulders.

"Why the hell did you come back?" she demanded angrily.

_I wish I knew, you ungrateful wench._

For the first time in his life, he had actually done something completely selfless.

This woman had tortured him, and even threatened to cut off his cock. He doubted she would have gone through with it, but a threat was a threat, and especially when directed at one's manhood, shouldn't to be taken lightly.

And instead of being grateful, she was biting hid head off.

"If you don't recall, I was recently tortured myself, and it's..."

"Oh, don't act like you suddenly care about others!"

Jaime really wanted to hit her now.

He lifted the gun, pointing it at her head.

"There you go... That look suits you." she said tauntingly.

The blood on her hair had already darkened, and her face was swollen, and beginning to turn a dark pink.

Jaime recalled every single time she'd brought the hot poker against his skin. He recalled the smell of burnt flesh, that made him gag. The way he had to reach deep into his mind to find his mental picture of Cersei, and how that had bolstered him when the pain was too much, and all he wanted to do was give in.

His finger twitched over the trigger.

But then he remembered Renly, lying lifelessly on the floor. And Brienne, crying over him.

He let his hand fall with a sigh, the gun suddenly too heavy.

He looked into her eyes.

_So blue._

They staring up at him furiously. But after a long moment, they went from angry to confused, the crease between her brows slowly fading.

"I'm leaving. Stay out of our way, and you have my word, that I won't hold what you've done to me against you. Gendry's fate is set though. Don't try to get in out way. Don't try to be a hero. This is far bigger than you imagine. I can't guarantee that my sister won't try and have you killed if you try something. So you should really stay out of it. If you don't, I'll have no other choice, but to ..." he trailed off when he saw her eyes dart away from his, fixing on something behind him.

He was about to turn, when something heavy hit his head.

Everything turned white, then green, as he fell forward, landing on his face.

His skull felt like it was ready to explode.

"_Gendry_!" Brienne cried out with relief.

Someone slipped a foot under his stomach, flipping him on his back.

When his eyes finally focused on the large man that stood before him, he felt his blood freeze.

"We meet again." Sandor smiled down at him.

Jaime closed his eyes. _This has to be a joke._

**AN**

**Ok, first off, I want to start by apologizing for saying I'd have this chapter up the day after I posted c24...**

**I have officially decided not to ever again say when i'll have a chapter up... cause with my work, school and theatre schedules the way they are, I never know...**

**Now, about the chapter: **

**This chapter had some flashbacks. They are flashbacks, giving us small glimpses to what we didn't see back in c17 during the conversation between Arya and Jaqen. **

**In c17, we go from Gendry getting beat up, to him waking up back at the hotel, and Arya stitching him up, suddenly saying, "i trust Jaqen."**

**Well, for those who were wondering, that's how Jaqen proved himself. By promising to keep Gendry's secret.**

**So, if you guys don't trust Jaqen in this chapter... good! Good for you! I don't trust him either...**

**If you trust him and think he's hot... well, I can't blame you :)**

**Jaime, and Brienne! A lot going on with them. It was just a huge mix of many of their scenes in SoS... the bathhouse where he sees her naked, the bear cage, when he returns for her, their capture.. and I think a few more...**

**I'm still in the dark about where these two will take me...**

**Robb and Sansa! Finally, two Starks reunite!**

**I want to thank you all for your reviews! Their my fuel! Keep feeding me my darlings **

**^o^ **

**I want to also thank partyinthenorth for offering to be my beta! yay for me! **

**thanks maddie**

**and I'll take this moment, to bow down to you all, for being so wonderful and so supportive of this little adventure i've taken to write this story.**

**I don't get tired of mentioning that it is thanks to you all, to your reviews and support, that I have made it this far!**

***bows***

**Until next time, my freaky darlings!**


	26. Chapter 26

"Gendry!" Brienne cried out from where she knelt in the center of the room. Her hands were tied to her ankles and her face red and swollen.

"I'm here," Gendry told her soothingly as he began untying her bonds. "What happened?"

"They killed him. They killed Renly..." was the only thing she was able to utter before she closed her eyes and began to weep silently.

Gendry's stomach turned at the revelation. _Another one._ _They've killed another one. _

"I'm so sorry Brienne," he whispered, pulling her to her feet and wrapping his arms around her tall frame. She sniffed loudly by his ear a couple of times before pulling away and wiping her face dry.

"It was Cersei Lannister," she told him as she tugged her torn shirt closed. "She killed him and shot me. That's Jaime, her brother." Gendry turned to the blonde man Sandor was standing by. "Things got out of hand with him." Brienne confessed.

"Oh my..." the man gasped out as Gendry took a few steps towards him. "There is no doubt that you are Robert's son."

"What?" Brienne turned to Gendry for an explanation.

Gendry ignored her and the comment and eyed the man from head to toe.

His face was bruised and his unbuttoned coat revealed the red marks that peppered his chest. He agreed with Brienne. Things had gotten out of hand.

They were in deep shit. And things were worse than ever now. Arya was gone. Renly was dead. Brienne had tortured this man, leaving him barely conscious and just when he thought things would be better, the table turned on him and he was standing in a cabin with a Lannister that looked more dead than alive, three dead bodies, and no Renly. Renly, the man who was suppose to help them find the will.

_I wish Arya were here. _

He wasn't sure why, but when he was with her, this whole situation wasn't as heavy.

He missed her.

Missing her hurt.

He could still see her in his mind's eye. Her large, sad, grey eyes staring at him, and bolstering him... He missed her trying to take the lead. And her strength, which oddly strengthened him too.

Now he stood here. All eyes on him. Brienne. Sandor. Jaime. What do they do now? Where do they go? What will they do with Jaime?

"Who are they?" he asked, with a nod towards the dead men.

Brienne shrugged. "They came to trash the cabin. They worked for some guy named Jack."

"Jaqen," Jaime corrected from the floor.

Blood rose to Gendry's face at the mention of the name. "What? They're Jaqen's men?"

"You know him?" Brienne asked.

"Met him a few days ago."

"A few days ago? Where have you been?"

Gendry sighed. "It's a long story." He shot a wary glance at Jaime.

"And it can wait." Sandor cut it.

"No it can't!" Brienne said sternly.

Gendry closed his eyes. His head hurt, and his stitches were throbbing. He was sure they were infected.

"She's right," he told Sandor, "We need to put everything on the table and see what our next move will be. We needed Renly. Now we're back to square one."

Jaime chuckled from where he sat. "Next move..."

Sandor clenched his jaw and looked away. "I should have gone my own way."

"Well, you didn't, did ya? You made your choice, and no one forced you, did they... not that I recall... so stop whining, alright? Help us. We can figure something out. We have him."

"You think that gives you an advantage?" Jaime croaked mockingly. Sandor turned to the slumping man and gave him a kick.

"Stop!" Brienne yelled, crossing the room towards Sandor.

"Why?" he asked her.

"Why hurt him?"

"I should ask you the same question!"

"Quiet!" Gendry yelled over them. This was a huge mess. He knew how Brienne was, and Sandor was just as bad. They would never agree on anything. And Jaime sneered at them mockingly, making Gendry nervous.

"We need to get out of here," he said, walking over to the coat on the floor and picking it up.

"And go where?" Sandor and Brienne both asked at the same time.

"I don't care. Away from here," he tossed the coat to Brienne, "Away from them." He pointed at the dead men.

"We can't go anywhere without a plan, and we can't think up a plan without knowing everything."

"I was with Arya!" Gendry yelled. "I've been with Arya _Stark_, all this time," he told Jaime.

Brienne looked as shocked as the blonde man on the floor.

"The night of Ned's death, she showed up at my flat. Then Yoren showed up. I thought they'd just need to hide out the night, but it turned out I was involved in it all, without even knowing it. I'm Robert Baratheon's son." Brienne gasped. "Yoren suspected the reason Ned was killed was because he knew of this will of Robert's... A will that included me. Sandor confirmed it."

"Where's Arya now?" Brienne asked, still processing the information.

"I don't know. When I woke up yersterday morning, she was gone."

"I don't blame her. You're all a bunch of fools!" Jaime said.

"The safety deposit box we asked Renly to look for, we thought it might contain the will."

"She knows about it," Brienne combed her hand through her short hair. "Cersei. The night you called, Jaime was listening to everything. She has the number."

Gendry wasn't surprised. Everything else had fallen into a shit hole, what's one more thing.

"Now what?" Sandor demanded.

Gendry looked the burned man in the eyes, then he turned and looked Jaime, who was smiling up at him, then lastly, his gaze rose to meet Brienne's large blue eyes.

She didn't look scared. Gendry was terrified, but Brienne seemed in control of her feelings. _Like Arya_.

He decided to take strength from Brienne, and suddenly, he knew exactly what to do.

"We don't need the will. All we need is him." Gendry pointed at Jaime.

"He's not talking." Brienne said.

"I don't need him to talk. He's just a pawn."

"Cersei won't fall for it" Sandor said.

"He's right," Jaime nodded from the floor. "She won't."

"She will if I offer her something more valuable than the will."

"And what's that?" Jaime taunted.

Gendry bent over, making sure he got a good look at Jaime's eyes.

"Me."

xxxxxxxxxx

"You don't know what you're asking for, girl," Jaqen said with a small laugh as he closed the first aid kit and slid off the stool.

Arya glanced down at her bandaged wrists, asking herself if she really knew what she was doing.

She was always so impulsive. Gendry always pointed it out. Her father had too.

_Impulsive, and wreckless. Fierce. Rebellious_... She could go on and on and make a list of everything she'd been called over the years.

She shook her head before she had time to think things through properly. She knew this is what she wanted.

"I know what I'm asking for," she said, sliding off her stool and following him down a hallway, into the back part of the house.

"No . . . you don't!" Jaqen said, spinning to face her suddenly, making her nearly crash into him. "A girl is impulsive. A girl should think more before she makes decisions."

"Stop with the third person talk! It's annoying!"

Jaqen smiled, turning on his heel, and walking away from her.

"I know what I want. And I want this."

"When I met you in Madrid," he said over his shoulder as he walked into a room. "all you wanted was to find your family. Now you want to turn your back on them, abandon them when they need you the most in pursuit of some silly-girl whim. That makes no sense."

Arya grabbed his arm and made him face her. "I am _not_ a silly girl!" she yelled up at him murderously. "It makes _perfect _sense. It makes sense because I'm angry. I'm tired . . . and angry. I've been running for my life ever since my father was murdered. I want to kill Cersei. I want to destroy everyone responsible for the murder of my parents. I'm human. I want revenge . . . but when I was caught and tortured, I realized how weak I was. How incompetent I really am. I almost died."

Repeating that just now brought back all those feelings she felt back in that basement. The anger, and helplessness, and the bitter acceptance.

"I never want to feel that way again. I never want my life to be in the hands of someone else. If I face Cersei, I want to know that I can end her. I want her on her knees, the way her men had my father, and I want to look into her eyes, and I want her to plead for her life. I can't have that. Not without you. Not when I'm still that weak girl that shed tears of fear in that basement. I want to be without weakness, and without fear. Only then will I be of true help to my family."

Jaqen let out a shuddery sigh. "Before you embark on a journey of revenge... dig two graves."

Arya bit her bottom lip, closing her eyes. She knew that.

"That's Confucius."

Her lids flew open. "I don't care. I want revenge."

Jaqen laughed. "And that's the first thing we'll need to remove in order to make you into the face less no one that you want to be."

"So . . . you'll do it?" Arya asked with hope.

He slid the back of his hand down her cheek tenderly. "I will... lovely girl."

xxxxxxxxxx

"The Bordeaux man..." his beady-eyed assistant said with coffee breath.

"Yes, the one found outside that hotel," Jorah said

"Yes... I looked into him like you said, and he is in fact associated with the Lannisters. His name is..."

"What are you doing here?" Jorah whispered to himself, interrupting his assistant. "Jack, we'll continue this later..." he dismissed the man with a wave of his hand as he walked down the empty hallway towards the tall blonde that stood by the Christmas tree at the end of the hall.

"Jorah," she said with a smile as soon as he was close enough to hear her.

"What the hell are you doing here? I told you, I come to you!" he whispered, grabbing hold of her arm as soon as he was beside her and pulling her roughly towards the lifts. "How did you get in here?"

"Oh please, don't insult me."

"You've got a nerve showing up here. I'm still under..."

"I know, I know, do you think I would risk it if it wasn't important? You weren't answering your phone."

"It's in my office."

The lift door opened and they both stepped inside.

"I need to leave tonight," she pressed the button to his floor and the doors slid closed.

"Can you wait until we're in my office?"

"I think I found Osha," she whispered into his ear.

"Margaery!" he warned, and she didn't say another word until he closed the door of his office behind them.

"I think I found Osha," she told him with a smile.

"I heard you the first time. How did you find her? I've been looking for her for years."

"I sent the pictures you emailed me to a contact. He hacked into all the security systems of all the businesses within 5 kilometers of Cutlers Hall and checked the footage for that night and we have a match."

A creak made both of them turn and come face to face with Daenerys, who was sitting in one of the corner chairs of his office. _Damn!_

"Dany! What are you doing here?"

"You asked me to come," she said acidly as she headed for the door. He'd forgotten all about it. He caught her wrist before she could reach the door.

"Please, let me explain."

"You don't owe me an explanation, _Mr. Mormont! _"

Coming from her, the way she addressed him was a low blow. For years they'd been Jorah and Dany to each other.

Her eyes were two angry, accusing flames. She looked so betrayed.

"Let me explain," he whispered intensely, tightening his grip on her wrist.

"No," she whispered back with heat as she tugged her wrist free.

This could be over for him. This could be the end of his career, with all the strikes he had had. But he welcomed it with open arms. He would not, however, allow Dany to leave this room until he cleared things up with her.

He reached the door before her and caught both her arms in an iron lock. "Dany, please."

"It's Miss Targaryen to you! And you are nothing more than my Chief Inspector! For now. Now let go of me."

"I won't let you leave until you let me explain everything. It's all just a misunderstanding."

"Please, Dany, hear him out," Margaery pleaded calmly from behind them.

Daenerys barely regarded her. "The only misunderstanding here, was me _ever _believing you were my friend."

Jorah didn't let his face betray his feelings at that moment. He kept it stoic. But he released her and opened the door for her.

"This is about Jaqen," Margaery said before Dany could take a step towards the door.

The room stood still as the seconds ticked and Jaqen's name still rung in their ears.

Finally, Dany place a hand on the door and closed it. "Alright. Explain."

Jorah searched his mind in panic. He needed the right words. He needed to tell Dany everything, but knowing her, she'd only have patience for a few words. He wouldn't even touch on the matter of the death of her partner and fiancée, who'd been injured during the last operation held on the Jaqen case.

"Osha," Jorah began. "That's the name of the woman on the security footage your team recovered. "She's Jaqen's sister. She works for him. The Commisioner, my father, closed the Jaqen case about five years ago, even though the man was 891 million in with illegal assets."

Dany nodded.

"We'd already lost 8 million on the operation, and every step I took towards catching Jaqen only took me two steps further from him."

"We understand why Commissioner Mormont shut the operation down. A lot of lives were lost. Even your husband's," Margaery said.

"Fiancée," Dany corrected, and Jorah shot Margaery an angered glance.

"We know that case put a lot of strain on the department, and that I seemed to be leading us all in the wrong direction . . . but even now, I still can't let go of it."

"You mean..." Dany began, but Jorah cut her off with a raise of his hand.

"I'm still working on it. On my own. With Margaery here, and a few of her contacts."

"I've been working undercover," Margaery took a few steps towards them. "Gaining the friendship and trust of the Lannisters, the last family Jaqen made business with."

"It was terrible, what happened at Cutler's Hall... but this tragedy came at the right time for Margaery and me. The fact that the Lannister family is involved, and now that we know Osha is as well, we have access to equipment needed to speed up _my_ investigation."

"We've come closer to finding Jaqen than ever before," Margaery interrupted, "And now, we have a lead on his sister."

"So you're using the Cutler Hall incident as a crutch to your own personal investigation. You care little for those poor missing kids. Those families..." Dany shook her head in disgust.

"No. I care about finding the Stark children as much as I care about finding Jaqen... only now they go hand in hand, and I have access to the team here, without seemingly going against orders."

"Why go against orders in the first place?" Dany asked him. "Why is this so important to you? Why risk your job?"

"Loan shark, money launderer, terrorist financer, short-selling stocks to large companies, then engineering the sink of their share prices... This man is everywhere and he does it all... My father was wrong in shutting down the operation."

"He shut it down because it was costing millions and lives were being lost," Dany took a step foward, "It was gaining _nothing_. You were getting _nowhere_."

"I am now," Jorah followed her lead, taking a step towards her, so that there was only about a foot between them. "I didn't betray you, Daenerys. I didn't use you. You are my closest, and most respected friend," he risked grabbing her hands. She didn't pull away. "I need to solve this case. This man has to be stopped."

He could see her green eyes searching his warily. Searching for the truth.

When she gave his hands a squeeze, he knew he'd gotten through to her.

"You're right," she said with a nod, releasing his hand. "You're right," she repeated.

Jorah nodded, feeling relief wash over him.

For a moment he'd almost lost Daenerys, and that had scared him more than anything.

xxxxxxxxxx

The nurses smiled at her as she walked down the corridor, towards Robert's room.

Robb had confirmed her suspicions that morning, and now, as she smiled back at the nurses and doctors she walked by, she couldn't help but wonder if any of them were working for Cersei and Jaime.

She walked into the room noticing the fresh flowers sitting on the counter under the window. From Myrcella, no doubt.

Sansa pulled her coat off, hanging it on the back of her usual chair; next to Robert's bed.

"How are you today?" she asked the unconscious man as she sat.

His stubble was long now. She remembered he'd had a clean shave the night of the party. She idly wondered if she should ask a nurse to give him a shave.

She reached over and grabbed his hand, giving it a small squeeze. _I miss fathe_r.

"Joffrey's on his way. He will be here soon." she told Robert, letting go of his hand and turning in her chair to grab her bag off the floor.

"I brought a magazine. There's an article I read that I thought you might like."

She pulled the rolled magazine out of her handbag and began leafing through the pages, looking for the article.

She began to read out loud, not paying any attention to what she was reading. Her mind was on Robb, and everything he had revealed to her earlier. Jaime and Cersei were the ones responsible for Bran's accident. All to hide their filth.

Her grip on the magazine tightened, and she realized she had stopped reading a while back. She cleared her throat and tried to find her place in the article.

As soon as she began reading again, her mind once more trailed over to earlier that morning.

_Petyr is on our side,_ She told herself over and over again to give her some comfort.

Robb had said Cersei probably had the police on her side. Sansa didn't doubt it. Mordane's death hadn't even made news, and she'd been found the same morning Cat was.

Yes. Cersei had more than the police on her side.

Sansa shifted her weight, suddenly uncomfortable in the large hospital room. She could feel eyes on her. As though someone else were in the room.

She looked around before rolling her eyes at herself.

_It's just you and Robert in the room. _

On the bed, Robert's breath hitched, making Sansa's eyes snap to him, then to the heart monitor, then to him once more.

All seemed normal.

_Relax, Sansa. Stop being so silly._

Her throat was tight and dry, so she didn't resume reading out loud.

Robb told her all about Bran, and how Alicia would take him and grandfather to safety. Sansa told him about Sandor. Robb made it all too clear how much he considered it a bad idea, but it was too late now to change anything.

Besides, even if she could, Sansa suspected she wouldn't.

_She stood there; on the gravel road leading to the main road, staring after Sandor's car as it drove away a second time, this time, for good, and she felt the weight of the world on her shoulders. _

_The weight of her father's death. The weight of the absence that grew each day she was away from her family. _

_She missed Arya. And dear Bran. _

_She needed her mother. She longed for Robb. _

_As she saw the black car turn at the main road, and speed away, disappearing over a hill, she felt the weight of Sandor's absence as well. _

_Perhaps he had not been a friend. And perhaps the longest conversation they'd had had been this once just now, when he'd asked her to leave with him and she'd asked him to find her brother and sister... but he'd been there for her all this time, even during her father's death. _

_He'd been her only comfort. _

_It was only when the cold became unbearable that she turned, walking up the road, towards the manor. _

_Towards Joffrey. _

_She was greeted only by the help, and she was oddly grateful for it. Joffrey was the last person she wanted to see right now. _

_After a warm bath, she crawled into her bed, feeling like a guest for the first time since she'd been here. _

_This bed wasn't hers; nor was this room. _

_The morning after the Cutler's Hall incident, she'd woken to find one of the maids unpacking her clothes from her suitcases._

_"'Morning miss. Lady Baratheon asked us to bring some of your things over. She says you may stay as long as you'd like. She didn't think it wise for you to go over to your house with all the reporters lurking about like vultures. I hope you like what we picked out for you"_

_Sansa looked around the room, her eyes falling on her things. Not even seeing her belongings made her feel at home. She leaned over to the edge of the bed and pulled the night table drawer open. Underneath the copy of Jane Eyre she'd taken from the Baratheon's library, was Sandor's handkerchief. _

_"You're alright now, little bird... you're alright," Sandor had whispered to her ear as he carried her though the kichens and out the back of the building, where two black cars were waiting for them. _

_"Where's father? Arya and Rickon!" Sansa had yelled, but no one had answered. Jaime, Cersei, Tommen and Myrcella all climbed into one car, and it'd sped away like mad. _

_Joffrey had been the first to climb into the second car. Sandor had urged her in before seating himself next to her and slamming the door._

_The whole ride to the Baratheon's home, Joffrey was in a fit, never shutting up about how he'd nearly lost his life, only once mentioning his father._

_Sansa had curled herself at the end of the car seat, taking in deep breaths to calm herself, and wishing Joffrey would just shut up. His shrill voice was only setting her more on edge, and it was not helping her stop the tears that kept on rolling willfully down her cheeks._

_"I'm sure they're fine," Sandor had whispered near her ear, holding out a white handkerchief, which she'd taken gratefully and pressed against her face. _

_She moved the book aside and pulled it out of the drawer, pressing it against her face. _

_It still faintly smelled of him. The scent barely traceable. She closed her eyes, and she was in the car again, his hand holding her face. And this time, if only in her head, she said yes to him. Yes, she would leave with him._

"I hope you're well, Sandor," Sansa said, closing the magazine on her lap, "I hope you're well, and that you'll find my brother and sister."

She turned to Robert.

"Mother's dead. I think you were right... I should have left that house. I should have left with you... But I was right too. I need to be here. There must be a reason why I need to be here... right?"

She sighed deeply. "I wish you'd been here too, though."

Her confession flustered her, and she blinked a few times, shaking her silly thoughts away as she pulled her mobile out to check the time. Joffrey should have been here by now.

A small gasp made her snap her head up just in time to witness Robert's brows twitch.

Her eyes grew wide as she sprung to her feet. "Robert?" she gasped out.

For a moment, nothing happened. The seconds ticked by slowly, and her heart hammered inside her rapidly.

I must be imagining things, she told herself about to sit back down, when Robert's lips parted, inhaling sharply before he began to cough.

"Robert! Robert?" she yelled, taking hold of his hand. His eyes flew open when she did, and he looked terrified.

The heart monitor began to beep loudly, and Robert tightened his hand around hers as he began to cough. No, not cough. Choke.

"Help! Doctor Clark! Nurse! Somebody!" she called, pulling her hand free from Robert's grasp as she ran to the door, yanking it open. "Doctor Clark!" she yelled into the hallway. A few nurses were already at the door, pushing her aside, and Doctor Clark was at the end of the corridor; running towards her.

"He woke up! He can't breathe!" Sansa told him, finding it hard to breathe herself.

Dr. Clark walked into the room and Sansa followed him towards the bed.

"Please do something!" she pleaded as Robert struggled for breath, his eyes on her. They were calling for help.

"Get her out of here!" the Doctor said, and before Sansa could protest, she was being pushed out of the room by one of the nurses.

More nurses ran towards the room, pushing past her and through the door.

She could hear Robert gasping for air, and the Doctor shouting orders, and the heart monitor beeping endlessly.

Sansa glanced down at the mobile in her hand. No signal.

"Shit!" she gasped, running to the information desk by the lifts. There was no one behind the desk. She turned to the lifts, then to Robert's room down the hall.

"Come on Joffrey, where are you?!" she yelled as she ran back towards the room. It was silent inside.

"Please don't die Robert. Please don't leave us... I can't lose you too!" she began pacing back and forth outside the room, crossing her arms over her chest to keep herself calm. "You can't die, Robert!" she said bitterly.

She felt so angry.

_Why is all of this happening? Why? Why!?_

The door opened, and one by one the nurses walked out.

"What happened? Is he alright?" she demanded, but no one answered.

One of the last nurses to exit was as white as a sheet, and looked as though she'd seen a ghost.

"No," Sansa shook her head.

"_Sansa,_" the doctor called her, and she walked into the room with her head hung low, tears blurring her vision.

"Sansa?" Robert blinked up at her through squinted eyes, his voice thick with sleep.

Sansa's hands cupped her mouth, and the tears fell from her eyes. Only they were tears of relief.

Suddenly, she began to laugh, tears still falling from her eyes, as she ran towards the bed, clasping Robert's hand between hers and pressing it to her wet cheek.

_He's alive. Robert is alive! _

xxxxxxxxxx

They left the the car they stole out in London back at the cabin, and took Brienne's Land Rover. Even if it was missing a windshield.

They decided they'd contact Cersei, and Gendry would agree to meet with her.

It wasn't much, and they didn't know where they go from there. But Sandor said he knew a man who could wire Gendry up, and they'd be able to record the conversation.

Brienne still didn't trust the burned man, but Gendry seemed to trust him, and their plan pleased him well enough, so she didn't argue.

She'd tended to the worse of Jaime's wounds, and tried to do the best she could with Gendry's stitches. Thankfully they weren't infected, but the skin was swollen to the point of almost fully hiding the thread.

Gendry told her about Arya and everything they'd been through with more detail as she cleaned him up with the Amosan she found in the well equipped first aid kit she'd found in the cabin earlier, when she'd tended to her bullet wound.

The way Gendry spoke about the Stark girl made her think he had developed feelings for her.

She remembered the afternoon he'd walked into the station with the girl in handcuffs, and the shock on his face when he realized it was Ned's daughter.

After that, it had become a game. Brienne was almost certain the girl would cause trouble on purpose, just to challenge Gendry. And Gendry never stepped down, despite the constant teasing from the other officers.

Once or twice Gendry had mentioned Arya to Brienne when she'd been over at his place for their game nights, and Brienne had already picked up on him caring for the kid. But she'd assumed it was just the challenge she was to him.

Now though, she could tell there was something else there. She knew Gendry though, and she sorta knew how Arya Stark was, and she doubted anything had actually happened between them.

"Pull over there," Gendry pointed to a gas station at the edge of the road.

They'd been driving for a couple of hours, and it was already dark out, and freezing cold.

"My face is fucking frozen," Sandor grumbled as he pulled in next to the pump. "We need to find another car. We're far enough from the cabin now. We can dump this useless thing somewhere and steal another car."

"Yes," Gendry agreed as he stepped out of the car.

"I'll pump it. It has a catch," Brienne told Sandor.

He merely nodded.

She stole a quick glance back at Jaime, who was sprawled over the last two seats.

He was sleeping.

"Keep an eye on him," Brienne told Sandor though the rear view mirror.

"I'll keep two," Sandor said sourly.

She rolled her eyes and stepped out of the car.

She fed the nozzle in and dug her frozen hands deep into her pockets. Her skin on her face felt stretched from the cold wind that was hitting it the whole drive here, no matter which way she faced. She glanced over at Gendry, who was inside, filling cups with coffee. His face was red and shiny.

The nozzle clicked and she pulled it out, screwing the fuel lid and slamming the little door close.

She walked to the quick mart, and pulled the door open. "Ready?" she called over to Gendry who was paying for the coffees.

His eyes were glued to the television behind the counter.

"What is it?" she asked him. He looked terrified.

"Here's your change, sir."

Gendry held his hand out to collect the change, picking up the coffee holder off the counter and storming towards the door.

"Gendry, what did you see?" Brienne called after him.

"He's alive." he uttered through clenched teeth.

"Who?"

Gendry turned to her, his eyes were scared. Panicked. Lost.

"My father."

**AN**

**SO sorry for the very late update, I had to leave town on a family emergency, and only those on tumblr found out about it. I apologize for that...**

**I'm back though, and I feel pumped up for future chapters. I'm also very excited because I finally finished the top part of my Arya costume. It's on my tumblr, if you guys care to check it out. Also, I'm directing a play for Christmas, so that also has me excited. And I came back home and Gossip Spyder, the fanfic I'm reading (highly recommend it!) had updated... *sigh* So I'm pretty pumped for all different reasons!**

**Where to begin with this chapter... Well, how about Robert. "HE'S ALIVE!" uttered Doctor Whale... ernmmm i mean, Sansa...**

**HAHA, yes, my lovely ladies, he's alive! :)**

**Also, we have a trio now. Sandor, Brienne, and Gendry.**

**Gendry didn't get along with Sandor at first, but he's warming up to him. Brienne and him will really clash though. So expect some of that.**

**GENDRY! He's turning himself over to Cersei :(**

**and Jaqen and Arya have a bit of a dispute, but finally Jaqen gives in to her. I mean, she's so freaking adorable. Who wouldn't. She's being, very, very impulsive, but that's Arya, and there's consequences.**

**PLEASE REVIEW! Tell me what you think :) About Robert, about the new trio, about Gendry and Arya's impulsive decisions... let me know!**

**I LOVE YOU ALL! MADDIE I LOVE YOU! **

**Again, sorry for taking forever with this...**


	27. Chapter 27

"He's alive," Gendry uttered as he walked past her and stormed for the car.

"Who?" Brienne demanded, trying to keep up with him.

He stopped suddenly, turning to meet her eyes. He looked scared. Panicked. Lost. Like a stag, caught in the headlights. "My father," he whispered before starting for the car again.

_Robert was alive?_

"What?" she yelled, grabbing his arm and yanking him back. The coffee holder slipped from his hands and all four cups crashed into the asphalt, spilling their dark brown contents into the floor. Gendry closed his eyes, taking in a loud, deep breath, perhaps to calm himself. But it didn't work.

"Fuck!" he yelled up into the night sky.

He looked so angry.

All Brienne could think of doing was pulling him in to wrap her arms around him. He was a good foot shorter than her, and hugging him like this, she was reminded of Renly.

_Your brother's alive, Ren. _

"This might be a good thing, Gendry. It _must_ be. It just _has_ to be," she whispered against his hair, trying to find comfort in her own words.

It had to be a good thing. She knew how close Robert and Ned had been. This changed everything. Their plan. The situation. Everything.

Gendry pulled away from her gently. Briefly meeting her eyes with his slightly wets ones before letting his gaze fall, almost bashfully. He looked more calm.

"I'll go get more coffee," she told him with a smile, patting his arm and turning for the mini mart.

When she stepped into the car a few minutes later, balancing the coffee holder in her hands, Sandor turned to her, as if expecting something from her.

"What?" she snapped at him, pulling one of the coffees out of the cardboard holder.

"What happened?" the scarred man demanded.

"Gendry won't tell us." Jaime added, sounding childish.

At first, Brienne though that the best thing to do was to keep the Robert news from Sandor and Jaime. At least until Gendry felt ready to share. If this was anyone's news to tell, it was his.

However, after some thought, she decided it was important for everyone to know. Even Jaime.

"Robert is alive," she said as she slammed the car door behind her.

"What?" Jaime huffed from the back seat.

"He was always alive, but . . . well, he woke from his coma."

"That's impossible," Jaime shook his head.

"I guess your little plan failed."

Brienne's brows creased. "Plan?" she asked, turning to Jaime.

"Yeah. They planned to get rid of Robert, and get rid of his bastard, and get rid of the will," Sandor said, starting the engine. As soon as the vehicle began to move, she could feel her eyes beginning to dry from the air that was coming through the front of the car; where the windshield should have been.

"How do you know all this?" she asked Sandor.

"Typical dog," Jaime spat weakly, before Sandor could answer Brienne." You bite the hand that feeds."

"What do you mean?" Brienne turned from Jaime, to Sandor, sliding to the edge of her seat to get a better look of his face.

"It means he can't be trusted. He used to work for my family. He was my nephew's man. And now, suddenly he turned honorable... and he's helping you two... I just don't buy it!"

"I don't give a fuck what you..."

"Why did you leave them?" Brienne asked Sandor, cutting him off.

"It's none of your business," Sandor barked, tightening his grip on the steering wheel.

Brienne shook her head to herself. "This is insane. How can we even trust you?"

"Oh, no. Not this shit again. I already went through with this with this one," Sandor said bitterly, nodding once towards Gendry, who sat silent in the co-pilot seat. "I'm not explaining myself to you. I owe you no explanation. It's none of your business, blondie."

Brienne cringed at the nickname. "It so happens that it is my business, when people I love are putting their trust in you!"

The car suddenly roared forward, twice as fast as it had been going, filling with icy air, making it hard to breath and sending her short hair in twenty different directions.

"Slow the fuck down!" she yelled, barely able to hear herself over the howling wind in the car. "Sandor!"

She closed her eyes involuntarily against the cutting air that was hitting her face at over 140 kph.

_This asshole is going to kill us all,_ she thought as she reached over to where Sandor sat. But before she could grab a hold of his arm, the car began to slow drastically, making her fall forward, off her seat.

As soon as the car stopped, she sat upright.

Sandor was alreadyout of his seat.

"Wee. That was fun," Jaime groaned sarcastically before leaning forward to throw up on the car floor.

Sandor poked his head in the car. "We're changing cars," he said, "I'll break into that car," he pointed to the parked car he had parked behind. "Be ready to follow me as soon as I get it started." he told Gendry, tossing him the keys and running towards the black car.

Brienne turned to Gendry. "He could have gotten us killed," she stated angrily.

Gendry stole a quick glance her way before rolling his eyes at her and turning to stare after Sandor, who was fidgeting with the car door with his knife.

"Give it a rest Brienne," he told her, his breath rising in a puff of steam before him. Brienne reached over for one of the coffees. Thankfully, despite the rough drive, the cups had only turned over, but not fully spilled. She held the cup out for Gendry, but when he reached for it, she didn't let go of it. Gendry turned to face her, his blue eyes locking with hers.

"Just tell me you trust this man. That'll be enough for me," she whispered stiffly.

Gendry's jaw clenched, and he nodded once.

"I wouldn't be here with him if I didn't," he said, and he pulled the coffee free from her hand.

"We trusted that man too, once," Jaime croaked, his voice low and thick from puking.

Gendry seemed to completely ignore the comment, his eyes wary of their surroundings. Outside, Sandor had already broken into the car, and it seemed he just needed to get it started.

"And you want to know how he repaid us our trust?"

"Jaime?" she turned to him with a cup in her hands. In the dim light she could barely see him, but from what she managed to gather, he looked like he was barely holding on to his consciousness. She almost felt sorry for him.

"Yes?" he said, taking the cup gratefully between his tied hands, letting it warm his hands first before he took a sip from it.

"Shut up," she said.

To her surprise, he didn't say another word.

A quiet, grumbling protest of a motor let them all know that Sandor had finally started the car, and Gendry, who had hopped over to the driver's seat, started the Land Rover, following after Sandor down the dark village road. They drove for a few minutes until they were outside of the village. Sandor pulled off the road and bringing his car to a stop under some trees. He stepped out and walked to Gendry's open window.

"The best thing to do," he told Gendry, "Is to drive her car down that small hill there and into those trees. Anyone driving by won't notice it," he turned to Brienne, "You can report it stolen as soon as you have a chance."

Brienne wrapped her arms around herself, looking in the direction of the steep hill he was talking about.

The car was useless now. They were practically fugitives. Gendry had briefly explained everything that had happened since the Cutler's Hall shooting and she was well aware of the severity of their current situation.

Ned was dead. Renly was dead. Yoren was dead. Theon was dead. Officer Levan was working for the Lannisters, and she had tortured a man. Gendry was wanted, and she didn't doubt there was a price on Sandor's head. The last thing that should have crossed her mind at that moment, was the sentimental value behind the car. It was pretty worthless now. The windshield was gone, there was sick all over the back seat, the doors had pipe dents all over them, and, well, it was the car they were using to run away. That alone should have been enough to render it useless, and a target. Yet she found herself dreading her separating with it, recalling the day she'd bought the car.

_Renly picked it._

She pushed the memories aside. "Let's do it," she nodded at Gendry.

The blue-eyed boy nodded back at her through the windshield and put the car on drive, moving slowly towards the edge and down the mildly steep hill for about 15 meters until the bumper softly crashed against a tree trunk. Gendry turned the car off and stepped out, making his way up the hill.

"You'll have to carry me," came Jaime's tired, raspy voice from behind. Brienne turned on her seat to face him.

"What?"

"I don't think I can walk."

"Try!" she opened her door, about to step out.

"I can't."

Brienne closed her eyes. _Bloody hell!_

The gravel crunched underfoot as she jumped off the car angrily. walking around it to the back door. Gendry was already halfway up the hill. Brienne yanked the back door open and reached over the seat to slip her arms under Jaime.

He smelled like vomit, and blood and like outside.

"Careful with my burns," he let out in a small voice. Brienne groaned, but caught herself carefully positioning him so that her arms barely grazed his wounded back.

He slipped his hands over her head, so that the knot of the cloth she'd used to tie his wrist together was resting behind her neck.

When she had a strong grip on him, one arm under his legs, and the other on his back, she lifted him over the back seat, gasping out as she felt all his weight heavy on her back and thigh muscles.

She began moving slowly up the hill on wobbly legs; too proud to call one of the guys for help, and too nice to make Jaime walk.

_You're turning into a big softy, Brienne. Don't let the guilt overwhelm you. He deserved what he got._

"My knight in shining armor." Jaime said, his sour breath nearly making Brienne gag.

Brienne shook her head. "Too weak to walk but not to talk. What must one do to get you to shut up?"

"Cut my tongue out."

Brienne chuckled. "Not such a bad idea."

Jaime grunted out what might have been a laugh, and when she glanced at his face out of the corner of her eye to see if it had been, Brienne became aware that he was staring at her.

"You know . . . you're a very attractive girl."

Brienne's chuckled died off at that. "Don't mock me, Jaime. I could have just left you to the bears."

Jaime let out a snort. "We're in Hollingworth, you stupid wench."

"To the fucking squirrels then!"

Jaime shook his head.

Thankfully, they were nearly at the top of the hill. Brienne felt she couldn't take his weight anymore.

"I'm serious though," Jaime said after a moment, "You're not an ugly woman. You have amazing eyes. Has anyone told you how becoming blue eyes are on a cloudy, dark winter's night?"

Brienne felt her muscles relax as she dropped him on the floor, kicking him once on the leg before walking around him, heading for the top of the hill by herself.

She shouldn't have felt so much pleasure from hearing him groan and complain about his ass, but she did.

Both Sandor and Gendry met her at the top, and she bumped her shoulder against Sandor's a bit too roughly as she headed towards the stolen car. "Fetch Jaime," she called back to him.

"Do I look like your fucking dog? I'm not a babysitter," Sandor yelled back at her.

Brienne turned to him, shrugging once. "Fine. Leave him. Whatever. I don't care."

Sandor screwed his face at her, but turned with a groan to fetch Jaime.

Brienne would have smiled if she wasn't so tired and on edge.

_Men are such useless idiots._

xxxx

_Arya felt her eyes grow wide with shock when she walked out the hall and saw Sansa and Joffrey making out in the hallway. The shock quickly turned into disgust and she chewed the inside of her lip to calm herself. _

_It wasn't the fact that they were making out that bothered her, but the manner they were doing it in. The overused term, "get a room," applied all too well to this situation. _

_"What do you want?" Sansa snapped at her, face flushed from making out. _

_Arya held her phone up for Sansa to see. "Mother wants a picture." she said. _

_Her mind trailed back to earlier that morning when Sandor had brought Sansa home, half-conscious, reeking of hard liquor and guy cologne. Her neck had been decorated with hickeys, and her dress was on backwards. _

_Arya had felt disgust at the thought of Sansa and Joffrey. Standing here, watching as she tugged at her dress, she felt it all over again. Thankfully it hadn't been Rickon or father who'd been witness to the repulsive display. _

_"You two are disgusting,"Arya told her elder sister as soon as Joffrey had walked back inside the hall. " That could have been father, or Rickon.'_

_"Just take the picture! And... I ... want... to ... see ... it... before... you ... send ... it!" Sansa said the last in a thick, warped voice. _

_Arya looked up from her phone to look at her sister, only to find herself staring at a faceless woman. The dress was Sansa's. So was the red hair, and the tall slender figure. But in place of a face, was nothing. Not a hole, not a covering... Just, nothing. _

_Arya looked down at the phone in her hand. The picture she'd just taken also showed a faceless woman. _

_"Let . . . me . . . see . . " the faceless woman called in a thick, distorted voice. _

_Arya swallowed hard, feeling raw fear pulse through her. "No," she said to the woman, and turned to reach for the door leading to the hall. _

_When she opened it, her body sliced through the dark. _

And then she was gasping desperately for air.

She was no longer at Cutler's Hall, but in a basement, sitting on a tall metal tub full of ice and all the way up to her collar bone, her chest contracting as she tried to gulp in as much air as she could.

There was a shooting pain in her head and every muscle in her body was cramped stiff from the freezing temperature of the water.

Her fingers clasped numbly to the edges of the tub to keep herself from leaving the tub, when all her mind asked her to so was get out and seek warmth.

She had not yet grown used to the freezing water, as she hoped she would, even though she'd been in the tub for almost an hour.

"Say the name, girl."

Arya closed her eyes, drops of icy water dripping from her lashes and rolling down her numb cheeks. She was trying to remember who she'd just been with in her memories. It was becoming harder and harder to remember their names.

Red hair.

Pink night dress.

A long, lanky body.

She had been clasping to hers in fear.

They had been spending the weekend at grandfather's... he always gave them separate bedrooms, but she always came at night, half scared of "ghosts". Arya would slide over and make room for the 11 year old red head.

She would wrap her arms around her and fall asleep, and Arya liked it. She liked the feeling of her arms around her.

In the morning she'd be gone. Back to her own room . . .

What was her name?

'Girl!" Jaqen's voice came from somewhere in the room. "What is the name?"

Lemon cakes.

She loved lemon cakes.

"The name, girl!" he was growing impatient.

"SANSA!" Arya yelled out, letting her head drop from the overwhelming feeling of emptiness. Her chin kissed the surface of the water, making the ice cubes dance in the ripples.

As soon as she'd spoke the name, she'd felt the last traces of the redhead fade from her memory.

_Just like the others. _

"Good girl," came the thickly accented voice from some dark corner of the room.

"Who is next?"

Arya searched her memory, trying to find who was next in line to wipe out. To find who was still there.

"Gendry," she said, and she took in a lungful of breath before sinking under the freezing water.

And she was running. Running along the highway. It was warm out. September. And he was right there, like he'd been all those months ago. In his neat police uniform.

And he was chasing her.

And she was smiling . . .

xxxxxxxxxx

The parcel arrived just as they were opening the pawn shop.

Anguy had had a long weekend and he had really been looking forward to getting back to his normal schedule.

Despite what many would assume, he loved working at the pawn shop. Being the one in charge of fixing all the broken things always made him feel at peace.

The crossbow he'd been working on for over a month now was by far his favorite project.

Tom signed for the package, and turned to place it on Anguy's work table, shooting him a sympathetic smile.

Anguy groaned, taking one of his scalpels and slicing through the tape and pulling the flaps of the large brown box open. There was an envelope, like always, and this time, a small white box as well.

When Jaqen had called Harwin from an unknown number to inform them all that the hunt for Arya and the boy with her was over, Anguy was sure they would have at least a few months off, like last time.

Maybe more, since the last vacations they'd had had been interrupted unexpectedly when Arya and her Bull friend had walked into their shop and Harwin had insisted on bringing them to Jaqen.

He didn't question Jaqen's order. Even if he was slightly curious as to why the man had given up on finding the Stark girl.

He was just glad he would go back home. They all were, and the all kept their questions to themselves.

That's how things were with Jaqen. No one ever questioned him. There were no _whats_ or _whys_. Just, "yes sir", and "all done sir".

And it suited everyone quite well.

To simply get the job done, and get paid generously for it.

The whole drive back home, Anguy's thoughts where on the crossbow that sat patiently on his work table; waiting for him.

As soon as Tom read the coordinates on the note that came with the parcel, Anguy cursed internally, and his eyes strayed to the crossbow quickly before he reached over to snatch the note from Tom's hand.

Anguy was one of three people who knew the exact locations of Jaqen's homes. All seven of them. That was how the german worked. He had few men working directly with him, and each only knew so much.

No one knew what the others did.

At first Anguy had felt privileged to be the only one to be trusted with this very personal information of Jaqen's.

_What a fucking glorious honor! _He had told himself, fighting off the urge to gloat with the rest of the guys.

He turned into the man's personal delivery boy though, and it soon grew tiresome.

Too much could go wrong, and only he would be to blame. So much depended on him. It had become a job he dreaded, and every time he went to and from places picking up and delivering Jaqen's parcels, he felt a heavy weight on his shoulders that only left him as soon as the package was no longer under his charge.

Every parcel came with a note. Those were always to be delivered from Jaqen. The note always only had a set of coordinates. Anguy had learned from Jaqen himself how to either add or subtract the coordinates from a fixed coordinate Anguy had memorized depending on the coordinate itself. The result would direct him to the place the parcel would be delivered to. If there was only a note, then the errand was to pick up a package and deliver it to one of Jaqen's homes. A few times, more often now than when he first started this job 4 years ago, there was a pick up followed by a second and sometimes third delivery. Or a delivery followed by another one.

That had been the case this time. Anguy had delivered the parcel that had arrived at the pawn shop only to be given another one that he had to take to Jaqen's home.

Anguy had walked into the large house and placed the parcel on a small table at the entrance.

Usually, whether Jaqen was home or not, Anguy never saw him, unless he happened to be walking by when Anguy entered the house. On those occasions, Jaqen ignored him. Sometimes he'd take the package from his hands, others he'd continue doing whatever it was he was doing as if Anguy hadn't just walked in.

This time though, when he'd walked into the house, he heard a noise coming from downstairs and because it sounded like someone choking, and he did something he'd never done before. He stepped further into the house, making sure it really was someone choking and not something else. The last thing he wanted was to walk in on Jaqen and a woman realizing the choking sounds had been... something else.

He froze after a few resistant steps, and listened. He could still hear the noises. They were coming from downstairs.

There was coughing too, and then a low, stern voice, "The name, girl?!" it had called out.

"SANSA!" someone had answered. A girl.

And Anguy had sprinted for the door, yanking it open and pulling his gun out from inside his coat, quietly jogging down the stairs into the dimly lit basement.

By the time Anguy had reached the bottom of the stairs, he'd had just enough time to realize it was Arya before she'd sunk under the ice water of the tub she was sitting in.

Jaqen, who had been sitting on a foldable chair, several meters from the tub, turned to Anguy with a murderous glare.

"Uhh... I'm sorry, I heard a sound, I thought... I brought a parcel... it's ... on the table... upstairs," Anguy had managed to stammer out nervously. All he had wanted to do was run back up the stairs, out the front door, into his car, and drive as far and as fast as he could from this place.

But he stood his ground, ready for whatever consequences his intrusion would bring.

"Then you can let yourself out, Anguy," Jaqen had said and Anguy had tripped up the stairs and run out of the house and to his car.

He was probably going to get fired now. Or worse. Things with Jaqen were never simple. Men were never simply fired. They disappeared. Or worse, they were used to prove a point or made an example out of.

Anguy had known that when he signed up for the job. He should have known better and he should have minded his own business.

During the entire drive home, that hadn't been what had troubled his ride though.

Arya Stark had been in that basement with Jaqen, sitting on that ice tub. What was she doing there? Why was she in that tub? What was going on in that room? Where was that overprotective Bull guy that never seemed to want to leave her side?

Question after question rose and each possible answer disturbed him more than the last.

When he finally parked his car outside of his house, for once, he was pleased to see the old boys' vehicles parked in his four car driveway.

Tom, Lem and Harwin sat around his kitchen table, poker cards in one hand, and drinks on the other; a pile of bills and useless pocket findings in the center.

They were arguing in Catalan, and Lem seemed more amused than the other two men.

Anguy hung up his keys and walked to the table, taking Lem's drink from the man's hand and swigging it down in one gulp.

"Long day?" Harwin said without looking up from his cards. He dropped two on the table, turning to Tom.

"I think I might have fucked just about everything up for myself today," Anguy cleared his throat, picking up the bottle of brandy off the table and filling the cup again.

"What happened?" Harwin asked. Anguy had everyone's attention now. He gulped the glass' content down, wiping his mouth on the sleeve of his coat before speaking.

"I just... I'm just supposed to deliver the packages and get the hell out of the house... but today, I heard this noise, so I pulled my gun out and went down into the basement. It was just Jaqen though. And I felt like a total imbecile. He looked pretty annoyed."

Lem rolled his eyes at that, turning his attention to his cards again. "That doesn't sound too bad kid," he said, taking his glass from Anguy's hands, and filling it for himself.

"If you were in trouble, you'd have known on the spot. You're fine boy. Just don't do it again." Tom offered in a comforting tone. He dropped three cards on the table bringing groans from both Lem and Harwin.

Anguy combed his fingers through his neatly gelled hair, taking in a deep breath to calm himself down. "You don't understand though. It was more than just walking in on Jaqen. It was what I walked in on... or more like, who I walked in on."

Again, all three men turned their attention to him, forgetting about their game.

"Enough with the damn suspense. Just spill the damn beans, Anguy," Lem barked up, dropping his cards on the table and taking a sip from his glass.

"When I walked into the basement, Jaqen was with Arya. She was sitting in a large metal tub full of ice water."

"Ned's kid?" Tom asked.

None of the men looked as surprised as Anguy had hoped. He nodded once.

"So that's why the searched was cancelled. Jaqen had already found her," Lem added, more to himself than to the men.

"Yes. But the question is... did Jaqen find her, or did she find him? What the hell was going on in that basement? What was she doing in that tub? Her little bodyguard boy toy wasn't with her. Where is he? What was she doing in the damn tub?" Anguy demanded, slamming his hands on the table and turning to the men as if they had the answers. He was surprised to hear the shuddery sigh that escaped Harwin, and realized then, that they may indeed have the answers.

"What?" Anguy looked at the men inquisitively. When none of them met his eyes or answered, he reached over to still Harwin's hands, which were collecting the cards into one stack. "You know something, don't you?"

Harwin met his eyes then. "I do. And trust me. It's best you stay ignorant to it."

"What?" Anguy cried out in frustration. "Bull shit! That's bull shit!"

"We all know stuff that we must keep from each other. That's what this job requires from us," Tom said casually, smiling sleepily at his drink.

Anguy shook his head, rage stirring inside of him. He wasn't buying this. Not one single bit.

He turned to Lem. "I'm guessing you know too?" Lem rolled his eyes. "This is ridiculous. You all know, and I'm the idiot whose kept in the dark, as usual."

"Stop being so damn childish. Harwin's right. You're better off not knowing." Tom said, pushing his chair away from the table and rising. "I think we can all agree that my hand won," he said, collecting the bills and knick knacks off the table and finishing his drink. "And I'm off to bed. _Bona nit els mels amors_," he blew kisses at all three of them before walking towards the wing with the guest bedrooms.

"Buenas noches Tomas. I too, am calling it a night," Harwin said, placing the stack of cards on the table and patting Anguy on the back before walking after Tom.

Anguy chewed on the inside of his cheek, fighting against the fury that threatened to take over him as he pulled out a chair and sat, letting his head fall into his hands.

This wasn't the first time he had been kept out of something, which had been one of the reasons he had at first relished the thought of being one of three to know Jaqen's exact whereabouts. To finally be the one with a secret of his own.

After four years, he had hoped things would be different, and it pissed him off to find out that they weren't, but more than anything, to know how much it clearly pleased them to keep this from him.

He turned to Lem, who sat next to him, idly shuffling the stack of cards.

"I would tell you. You know I would," Anguy said, finally hearing how childish and whiny he really did sound.

Lem chuckled. "Because you should have been a girl. You love gossip. You don't really care what Jaqen was doing with that girl. You just hate being the only one not to know."

Anguy shrugged. Lem was half right. He was upset at the guys for keeping this from him, but the desire to know what was happening in that basement really outweighed it.

"Tom and Harwin are right. You're better off not knowing..."

Anguy sighed. _Whatever,_ he thought in surrender, about to rise from his seat, when Lem spoke again.

"But I'll tell you anyway. If it'll stop you from crying."

Anguy's brows shot up at that, and he ignored the jape, suddenly too ecstatic at the revelation that Lem was actually going to tell him. "Go on then." he urged.

Lem rolled his eyes. "Well, for starters," he began in a very hushed tone, leaning into the table, coming as close to Anguy as he could. Anguy leaned in too, propping his chin on his clasped hands. "This is something that's only been performed once before by Jaqen. It's an ancient practice. He calls it a wipe out, but that;s not really what it's called or what it does. Harwin is the only one of the three of us who has witnessed it."

"What is it? What does it do?" Anguy whispered anxiously.

"Are you gonna let me fucking tell you, or not?" Lem whispered back, clearly annoyed. Anguy nodded, deciding not to interrupt Lem until he was sure the large man was finished telling his story.

"Like I said, he calls it a wipe out. But that's not exactly what it does. . . From what I've heard, the person it's performed on is exposed to extremes. The one time Jaqen did it, he used temperature. Exposing the person's body to as much cold as it could handle before shutting down."

"For what?"

"To blur out memories. Hide them in the depths of the mind until they become no more than a haze. Faces become holes in people's heads. Names hold no meaning. Places are simply that. Places. No value or significance to them. All familiarity... gone. All pushed back into a deep, unvisited place of the mind."

"Wiping their memory?" Anguy asked with revolt.

Lem shook his head.

"No. Memory wipe is not possible. That's all science fiction. This is something different. The memories stay, but the body rejects them. It goes into panic mode if at any point the person strays too close to them."

"How?" Anguy gasped out. "How is that possible?"

"The exposure to the extreme temperatures... While the body is underwater, freezing... every cell in it numbing... the brain is fighting against it and playing out every memory it has of the person, place, thing event, whatever, that they want wiped. By the time the person comes up for air, the brain has rejected the memories played out. It relates the memories to the pain, in this case, the cold, and the subconscious stays away from it. Like I said, it's not a wipe out . . . more like a fade out."

Anguy couldn't believe what he was hearing. Lem called memory wipe the stuff of sci-fi films... but this was right there aswell... between aliens and the Loch Ness monster. It was insane, and too incredible. It made Anguy uneasy and a bit sick.

"And..." Anguy cleared his throat. "It works?"

"Jaqen's only tried it one other time. And it worked."

"Why would he do this to Arya?" Anguy could hear the anger and disgust in his voice, but didn't bother with trying to hide it. He was pissed, and he didn't know why.

Lem shook his head. "It can't work unless the person enters the procedure willingly. Half is physical, half is all in the head. If the person doesn't want this, or is having doubts, the brain will pick up on it, and it won't reject the memories. Not when the doubt is clasped on to them. Arya must have wanted this."

"That makes no sense. All that poor girl wanted was to find her family. She lost her father, then her mother... you were there. You say the news. She was devastated. Who wouldn't be. . . There is no . . . no way she would want to forget anyone or anything."

"Maybe that's exactly what she wanted. To forget. The deaths. The pain."

"No," Anguy shook his head roughly. "Not Arya. She's not that weak. She's a smart girl."

"Maybe she isn't. Maybe the procedure will fail. Maybe it won't. But know that she _did_ want this. Otherwise, Jaqen wouldn't have wasted his time trying it out again."

Anguy felt a chill run down his spine.

Again.

Again.

The word hung in the air like a huge, fat question mark.

"Lem. . . ? Who was the other person?"

"Huh?"

"You said there was another. Who was it? Was it me?"

Out of nowhere, Lem's hand twacked him behind the head. "Don't be an idiot."

"Well, I just though, I mean, since you wanted to keep this from me..."

"Because it's madness. It's Eternal Sunshine of the fucking Spotless Mind. Only Jaqen's not fucking Tom Wilkinson... this is real. And it's fucked up."

Anguy completely agreed. He filled one of the glasses on the table with the last of the brandy and took too large gulps.

"Who was the other person then?"

Lem sighed, and for a moment Anguy thought he wouldn't tell him. To be honest, he only partially wanted to know. Part of him wished he had listened to them, and stayed ignorant to the whole situation.

"Osha... Jaqen's sister."

"Her!?"

"Yes. She was the first."

"Shit! What did she forget? Does anyone know?"

"Oddly, yes. Harwin. And he told us. Osha isn't really Jaqen's sister. She thinks that now, but before she messed with her memories, she was his lover. That's what she forgot."

"What the fuck!" Anguy grimaced in disgust. This was Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind. This was worse, like Lem had said, cause it was real. And it was absolutely repulsive.

Lem chuckled. "Yes. The way Harwin told it, Osha was living in the streets and tried to mug Jaqen . She failed, and Jaqen's men caught her and brought her to him. He was going to have her punished, but quickly grew fond of her spirit, so he kept her around and struck a deal with her. He'd forget her attack if she ran errands for him. Sorta like you do, but Jaqen controlled things differently back then. He wasn't as careful. He trusted too many people with too much information. It didn't take long for them to start a relationship. During that time though, someone that was working for Jaqen tipped the authorities on a shipment exchange Jaqen was conducting at St' Augustine's and he was nearly caught.

"Jaqen accused the man he had been doing business with, and their feud nearly cost Osha her life. Jaqen has always hated weaknesses, and she had become just that, so it was time to get rid of her. She refused to leave him, and said she was willing to do anything to stay with him. She'd fallen for him." Lem rolled his eyes at that. "Jaqen told her about the memory wipe, something he'd only read about and had been dying to test out. He's always been intrigued by new ways and ideas, you know that. Osha agreed, he made her forget everything, and it worked. He cleaned her up, passed her off as his sister, and she remained loyal to him, but their relationship turned strictly sibling... and he won in the end, more than she did. Because he wasn't alone... and he had no more weaknesses... Whatever she gained out of this she wouldn't have knowledge of... since she couldn't remember. . ."

"And she's never remembered anything? Ever?" Anguy asked in disbelief.

"No."

"So... whatever Arya forgets..."

"Will probably stay in shadows for the rest of her life."

xxxxxxxxxx

"This man.. you sure we can trust him?" Brienne scratched her arm nervously as all four of them stood on the moving lift, staring at the metal doors.

"Yes. I told you a thousand times already. We can." Sandor whispered through his teeth.

"You are so utterly ridiculous, Sandor," Jaime mumbled out besides Brienne. "You only said it three times. I counted them."

Gendry could feel his patience growing thinner by the second with this lot. He loved Brienne to bits, but her current belligerent attitude towards Sandor was really wearing him out. Jaime was not helping out one bit. He was beginning to see why Brienne had gone to the extent of torturing the man.

He couldn't blame Brienne for her actions towards either man though. Jaime had been partially to blame for Renly's death, and it had taken Gendry everything in him to trust Sandor, so he understood how difficult it was.

Either way, under these circumstances, he wished Brienne would trust his trust in Sandor and stop making this difficult for them all. They had enough with Jaime.

The lift doors opened on the 11th floor, and Gendry was the first one to step out, glad of the open space. These three were turning him into a claustrophobic.

Sandor led them down the hallway to a flat door, banging on it aggressively. They stood still and alert for a few moments, but nothing was heard from the other side of the door.

"Maybe..." Jaime said, leaning against Brienne for support. She groaned with annoyance, but didn't shove him away. "No one's home."

Gendry gritted his teeth with irritation."Does he have an off button or something?" he asked.

"We should gag him," Sandor offered, banging on the door again.

Gendry opened his mouth, about to agree, when someone called out from behind the door.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" the voice asked sleepily as steps approached the door.

"Two in the morning. Now open up." Sandor said, turning to both sides of the hall. Gendry did too. No one was around, thankfully.

The flat door opened revealing a short, chubby, bald man in worn out boxers and a holey, faded Stones t shirt. He looked to be in his late 30's ... and half asleep.

It only took one groggy look at Sandor for his eyes to grow wide with terror, though.

"No!" he yelled and slammed the door. Sandor was one step ahead of the man though and caught the door with one hand before it fully closed, kicking it open.

"Get out! Get away!" the man squealed as he ran backwards, away from Sandor.

He reached over to a bureau and grabbed an R2-D2 book end, swinging it at Sandor, who had followed the man into the flat.

Gendry was beginning to think this had been a bad idea. He exchanged a look with Brienne, and he could tell she thought the same.

"Get away!" the man yelled, smashing the marble R2-D2 against the scarred side of Sandor's face.

Sandor grabbed the man's hand, twisting it back so that the man had no choice but to release the book end.

Sandor slapped his other hand over the man's mouth, muffling his cries for help.

"Get in! Close the door!' he yelled back at Gendry and Brienne, and taking one last look around the hallway to make sure no one had been awakened by the ruckus, Gendry followed Brienne into the flat, closing the door behind him.

"Shut up, Varys! Shut up! I'm not going to hurt you," Sandor huffed out at the man as he shoved him onto a sofa. "I'm just here to collect."

Sandor said the last so sinisterly, a wicked smile spreading across his face, that Gendry actually felt bad for the man.

The fat man's jaw dropped, and he stammered incoherently, a thin sheen of sweat visible on his bald head.

"Relax. I come in peace, or however that fucking line goes," Sandor cut him off mid stammer, wiping the hand he'd held against the man's mouth against his pants. "In fact if you do this one favourfor me, we can call it even."

The man's color returned to him as he glanced meaningfully, first at Brienne, then at Gendry and finally at Jaime, whose state was a ghastly one. "Favour?"

"I need you to wire me up," Gendry said, taking a step forward, "Sandor said you could. Is that true?"

The fat man chuckled, looking a bit more relaxed. "Boy. I am the Spider. There's really nothing I can't do."

Gendry felt oddly reassurance at that. _Good call, Sandor._

_This plan might just work._

Vary's eyes trailed from Gendry to Jaime, narrowing with curiosity.

"May I inquire about the man?"

"No. You may not," Gendry snapped, "Not him, or us. You just do your thing and keep your questions to yourself."

"I don't need to tell you that this all stays between us, do I?" Sandor added, stepping next to Gendry so that the man was cornered into his sofa.

The man smiled with an unexpected confidence. "Of course not, Hound."

And with that, he stood and disappeared into his bedroom.

Brienne walked Jaime over to the sofa, helping him sit before fetching him a glass of water. He drank it all ravenously, and Brienne unbuttoned her coat, reaching in to rip out a large strip of her already ripped shirt and using it to gag Jaime.

Jaime's eyes never left her face as she tied the knot behind his head, and they exchanged a long look before she turned to walk away.

Gendry was beginning to worry about her. He hoped that the guilt wasn't beginning to cloud her judgement. Or worse, Gendry hoped she wasn't falling into that whole "Stockholm Syndrome"- or rather, "Lima syndrome".

He knew Brienne. She was a strong, intelligent and very sensible woman.

He couldn't deny though, that in the few hours they'd been together since their reunion, he'd noticed some odd tension between Brienne and Jaime that had nothing to do with Jaime's involvement with Renly's murder, or with Brienne capturing and torturing him.

Gendry pushed those thoughts aside. _One thing at a time Gendry. Like you told Sandor. Like you're doing with Robert._

Getting to the root of the problem would make everything else fall into place. There was no need to fill his head with worries over the Robert issue... or Brienne.

She was here, and she was alive. And that was more than he could say for some of his other friends.

And he... well, he would deal with that when he had to... not know. Not when Arya was still out there and he had the will to deal with.

His eyes travelledaround the small tv room. The walls were covered with post it's and posters; their corners curling out. The floor was littered with take out boxes and beer bottles. An entire wall was a bookshelf; the bookshelves giving in under the weight of monitors, devices unknown to Gendry, and boxes full of wires.

"Kind of a dump," Gendry said to Sandor, who was also walking around the room, reading the messy script on the post its.

"Yes. He's a swine. He seems like a halfwit, but he's actually a genius."

"What's with the Hound thing?"

Sandor shook his head. "Just an alias. I was the Hound, he was the Spider. It was from a long time ago."

"Aliases?" Gendry chuckled. The thought of Sandor having an alias, and hanging out with this geek was hilarious. "What were you, like some sort of..."

"Hacker," Sandor interrupted him. Gendry felt his brows rise with genuine surprise. "We _were _hackers. Well . . . actually, Varys still is."

"Wow," was all Gendry could say. He was quite impressed.

"Alright," Varys chimed in gleefully as he wobbled out of the bedroom, holding a large metal case which he slammed down on the kitchen table. "Strip," he told Gendry as he unclasped the latches on the case and opened it.

Gendry obeyed, unzipping his jacket as he glanced over at the inside of the case.

"So," Varys began to pull out the small wired microphone from the case. "You want with or without a camera? I also have an earpiece."

"Give me everything," Gendry pulled his shirt over his head, tossing it on the table.

Varys spent the next hour wiring Gendry up and explaining to both Brienne and Sandor how to use the program that came with the surveillance kit.

They agreed that they should have a direct connection to the laptop Varys provided them with, so that in case something happened to Gendry, they'd still have all the audio and footage. He mentioned Cutler's Hall, Robert, Ned, and the Stark children to Sandor, asking him if he was still employed by them, but Sandor lied and said he'd stopped working for that family months before the incident. Thankfully, the press still hadn't released any footage of that night, which, according to Arya, would have showed Sandor pulling Sansa off the stage. Varys didn't seem to buy Sandor's story though, but thankfully, he didn't push him for any further information.

"So, we're even?" Varys asked as they all headed for the door.

Gendry walked out of the flat and into the hallway, too conscious of the wires that were taped to his back and chest.

"Yes," Sandor told Varys at the door, "I'll bring back all your shit as soon as I can. And we can forget about your debt to me."

Varys smiled, quite pleased, leaning on the door frame and giving Sandor a quizzical look. "Well, whatever this is about, I'm guessing it's important to you, if you're willing to forget the debt. I don't doubt I'll be hearing all about it in the news soon, knowing you."

"I'll see you," Sandor said, ignoring the last bit and guiding the group towards the lifts. Before they made it there though, Varys called out to them.

"Oi... I knew I recognized you," he said, in an almost sensual voice.

They all stopped walking, and Gendry turned on his heel, facing the man.

"Your face is all over the media. Good luck Gendry. I mean it. Be careful."

With that he slipped into his apartment and closed the door, leaving Gendry dumbstruck.

"Don't worry," Sandor called over to him, pressing the elevator button. "He won't say anything."

Gendry didn't know Varys, and he barely knew Sandor, but strangely enough, he had a feeling Sandor was right.

"Now what?" Brienne asked, walking Jaime into the lift.

"We call Cersei," Gendry said, stepping into the lift before Sandor and pressing the lobby button.

The cold air outside was almost soothing to Gendry, who grew more and more nervous by the minute.

Brienne pulled out Jaime's mobile from her coat pocket, and Gendry clicked it open, scrolling down to Cersei's name and pressing the call button. The line began to ring, and Gendry instantly felt every muscle in him tense up. He gave his back to Brienne and Sandor, taking a few steps towards the empty street.

After the fourth ring, someone picked up. It was a woman.

_"Where the hell have you been Jaime? I've been going insane."_

"This isn't Jaime," Gendry said into the phone. There as a long, drawn out pause before she spoke again. She sounded surprisingly composed.

_"Who is this? Where's Jaime?" _she demanded.

"I don't know where he is. I kept his phone after our . . . encounter."

_"Who is this!?"_

Gendry swallowed the knot on his throat, and licked his dry lips before he spoke again. "This is Gendry. Gendry Waters."

Another, longer pause.

"_Do you think I'm an idiot?"_

"I don't know you... so I couldn't say. But I'm not lying. I am Gendry. And as I speak, you can't deny that deep down inside of you, you know that I'm telling the truth."

He heard her swallow over the phone.

_"What do you want?" _she asked calmly.

Gendry could feel his hand shaking. "To meet you. We need to talk."

She let out a dry, bitter laugh. _"No, we don't."_

"We do. Men are dead. Good men. All thanks to you. You've made a disastrous mess over some petty will... a will I want no part of... So yes, we need to talk. And you will meet me. Alone. Today."

_"Today?"_

"Yes."

_"Alone?"_

"Yes. I'll be alone. So you must be too. I just want to talk. To make you believe that I don't want to be part of you or your husband's life. I want no part in that will. I just want to be left alone."

After a very long, silent moment, she spoke, sounding more confident than he felt.

_"Alright. I'm at Weston Park Hospital. Where do you want to meet?"_

"Kirk Edge Road. Head East, passing Bradfield School."

_"Alright. What are you driving. How will I know where to find you?"_

"Trust me... You'll know. I'll be there in one hour. And remember. Alone. Trust me, I'll know if you aren't. One hour."

Gendry ended the call before she could reply, exhaling sharply as he turned to face Brienne and Sandor.

"It's done."

Brienne nodded stiffly, not meeting Gendry's eyes.

"Let's be off then." Sandor tossed the keys to Gendry.

Gendry caught them in the air, feeling the tape of the wires pulling at his chest and back skin under his shirt. He shuddered.

But whether it was at the rub of the wire against his skin, or the realization of what he was about to do, he did not know.

xxxxxxxxxx

Robert waking up had shed a ray of hope on the darkness that had been her life these past few days.

Joffrey arrived soon after the doctor had let Sansa back into the room, and Cersei and the children a 10 minutes after Joffrey had called them.

The doctor had forbidden any mention of Ned, or the shooting, or anything that may upset Robert, so they had to be careful when speaking to him. He asked. He asked a lot of questions, but Cersei had kissed his forehead and assured him there would be time to discuss everything after he got some rest.

Tears ran down her eyes when she saw the kids sitting by their father, clasping tightly onto his plump hands.

Sansa wasn't fooled though. Not anymore. Not after speaking to Robb. But she shrugged it off for now, instead finding joy in the happiness of Myrcella and Tommen.

She really missed her father. And her mother. She wished she could hug Arya, and Bran and little Rickon.

She wanted to be with Robb.

He was so close. The closest of all her siblings, yet so far away.

With Robert awake now, things might change.

As soon as the doctor gave her the go ahead, she would sit with Robert and tell him everything. Even what Bran saw, and how he ended up in that wheel chair.

Everything.

It would be a terrible, heavy conversation, but it was an important one. It had to be done.

To clear her father's name... to bring her family together again. And to make the Lannisters pay for their crimes.

When visiting hours were nearing their end, Cersei told Sansa and Joffrey she'd stay the night with Robert, and to go home and take the kids.

Sansa couldn't help but worry about Robert's safety. She didn't really think Cersei capable of killing her own husband, but she still did worry.

The drive home had been very quiet, and while the children occasionally whispered two or three words to each other, Joffrey remained silent.

Sansa was a bit confused.

She had credited Joffrey's late bad mood to his father being at risk of losing his life. Staring at him now, one would have thought he'd received terrible news, rather than good ones.

When they arrived at the manor, the children went straight to their rooms, and although Sansa was exhausted and wanted very much to be alone, she followed Joffrey into the piano room, hoping she could to cheer him up. She didn't want to, but she couldn't leave him alone either. That part of her still lingered, even after everything that had happened.

"Aren't you happy Joffrey?" Sansa asked when, after about ten minutes of nothing but the crack of the firewood in the fireplace filling the room, she realized he wasn't going to be the first to speak. Joffrey turned to her, two glasses in his hands re filled with champagne.

"My father has woken from a coma. How else could I feel?"

Sansa tightened her fist besides on her lap. She hated when he spoke to her in that tone.

"Well you don't seem very happy," she noted dryly as she took the glass from his hand.

"Well, I should be. My father is well, I can finally begin to prepare for my wedding, with my beautiful fiancee... yet all of that happiness is overshadowed by disappointment."

"I don't follow," Sansa admitted with very little interest, taking a sip from her glass.

Joffrey forced a laugh, and sat besides her on the chaise, his green eyes looking deeply into hers. All at once, she felt her insides turn with panic.

"Do you remember, the morning we found out Sandor was missing? That he'd left me without a thank you... a good bye... nothing."

Sansa tensed, becoming suddenly alert. She began praying that Sandor was okay. That this wasn't Joffrey's sick way of telling her he'd been caught and killed, or worse...

"You told me," he continued, pulling her from her thought and worries. "that after he dropped you off, you came inside. That you didn't see him after that. That he didn't mention anything..."

This had just turned to her now. Not Sandor, who was out there, somewhere. Far away from this hell.

But her. Sitting here, before Joffrey, feeling herself shrink smaller and smaller under his fuming eyes.

"yet the surveillance video...shows otherwise."

Sansa began to breath more heavily. She wanted to tear her gaze away from Joffrey but she didn't dare to. She was like an caught in the headlights of a car. Knowing she was in danger, knowing she had to move...

_Rise._

_Walk away._

_Don't look back,_

_Like you should have done in the first place. When Sandor offered._

...Yet unable to react.

"Did you really think I'd be stupid enough not to check the videos?"

There it was. That tone again. It made Sansa want to slap him.

"Yes," she answered boldly, hoping it threw him off and made him realize she wasn't going to let him push her around now.

Joffrey sprung off the chaise, flinging his glass against the wall and pulling her to her feet by her shoulders. "How dare you!"

"Joffrey. Let go of me," she warned him though clenched teeth.

"You were in that car a long time, then you chased after it," his grip tightened around her shoulders, "What did you two talk about, you slut? What were you two plotting?"

"Joffrey, you're hurting me!" this time it was a plea.

"I've been so stupid. So blind. I should have seen it sooner," his face was now inches away from hers, and she could smell the alcohol in his breath. He had been drinking since before he'd arrived at the hospital. "It was always clear. The stares between you two. How he followed you _everywhere_. It wasn't for me. It was for you! It was all you! The whole time."

"You're drunk! You're talking nonsense!"

He shook her once, making her teeth rattle in her mouth. "How long had you been slutting around with that dog? With that scarred up dog! I bet it turns you on! His charred skin. I bet it makes you wet, you fucking whore! Doesn't it? Tell me! Does it? Tell me!? How long were you fucking that monster!?"

"Sandor is more of a man than you'll ever be! You're the monster!" she yelled up at him, with all the hate, anger and disdain she had collected in this house these past few days.

The back of Joffrey's hand connected hard against her cheek, sending her face flying to one side as he struck her.

Her red hair hung limp over her face as she raised her hand to the throbbing skin of her face. She could taste blood. It welled quickly inside her mouth.

She turned to him, and spat it right at his face.

Joffrey's eyes widened, and he reached to touch his face, pulling his hand away to stare at the bloody spit in disbelief.

"I'll fucking kill you!" he shrieked, grabbing a handful of her hair, and pulling her down to the floor.

He was on top of her then, straddling her body, both hands encircling her throat.

Sansa fought to breathe, and her head raced to figure out how to get out of this one. How to get him off her. How to save herself.

Without telling her body to do so, she brought her leg up, and her knee met the side of his ribs with force, making his grip loosen long enough so she could crawl out from under him and run for the door.

"Help!" she called out desperately. "Stephen! Andrew! Harriet!" she was screaming down the hallway. She had to get out of there. Joffrey was insane, and he would surely kill her if she stayed.

She could already hear him running behind her, yelling out a string of profanities.

Andrew, the butler, came into view at the end of the hallway, terrified at the sight before him.

Tears began to stream down her face. "Andrew! Help me!"

The man began to run to her, but when she reached him, Joffrey, who had caught up to her, socked him in the face, knocking him unconscious on the floor.

Sansa began to sob, every cell in her resonating pure terror as she ran in the opposite direction and towards a room with a slightly ajar door.

She slammed the door closed with her body as soon as she was inside, her iced hands scratching at the handle until she found the lock and turned it.

She was in Robert's study. Her eyes searched for a phone, but she found none.

Joffrey was banging on the door now, screaming out threats.

"Joffrey, please!" she begged, "Stop this. This is insane."

He began to slam against the door, from the sound of it, and before long, it the wood cracked.

Sansa looked up from the open desk drawers she was rummaging through and knew it wouldn't take long for him to break in. She had to find something to protect herself, or jump out a window.

She ran to the drapes, pulling them open. She was on the third floor, but she had no other choice.

Her hands began to wander through the glass, searching for that latch, when she heard the door finally break open. She spun, allowing herself only a second of panic before running opposite Joffrey, towards the small spiral staircase that lead up to the loft.

"You're dead, bitch!" Joffrey yelled behind her.

She wasn't going to make it to the staircase, or to the door. She spotted a wheeled display with fencing swords standing along the wall and made her way to them. She made it before Joffrey reached her, nearly slipping as she crashed against the display and circled her hand around one of the hilts, pulling it out of the wheel. With all the strength she had left she slammed the tip against the marble floor, and thankfully, it broke off in time for her to spin and jam it forward, her eyes closing against the outcome.

She heard the most grotesque, wet, gagging sound and when she opened them again, a piercing scream rang in the air.

It took her a while to realize it was coming from her. When she finally focussed on her tear blurred surroundings, she realized the body that lay on the floor was Joffrey's.

He was coughing up blood and more blood splurted out of the hole in his throat. More began to pool around his head like a halo. Thick, sticky, red halo. . .

. . . and after a few moments, he stopped moving.

Wide eyes staring up at her... face peppered with droplets of blood.

One of her cold, trembling hands rose to clasp over her mouth. She began to wail into it, unable to believe what was before her.

_"Miss Sansa! Master Joffrey!"_

Harriet and Stephen ran into the study, followed by a few more staff members.

"Oh my God!" Harriet yelled at the sight of Joffrey. "What happened?"

Sansa met their eyes, one by one... their faces blurred by new tears.

"He's dead." she gasped out. "I killed him."

**Translation:**

**Tom: Bona nit els mels amors : Good night, my loves (catalan)**

**Harwin: Buenas noches Tomas: Good night Tomas. (spanish)**

**My beta pointed out the use of the two languages, and yes, i used both catalan and spanish and have done so before. My translator, who is from Barcelona told me it's very common for them to use both, sometimes even in the same sentence. So I incorporated that to the characters :)**

**AN**

**AHHHH!**

**A lot going on in this chapter, but first, as always, I apologize for the late update, and that's why i made this chapter longer.**

**The play im working on is really stressful.**

**Anyway...**

**Ughhh! so much, so much.**

**Jaqen... what he's doing is totally fucked up!**

**I had so much fun with Sandor, Brienne, Jaime and Gendry.**

**Kudos to anyone that catches a Skins reference.**

** Gendry, poor baby, with the three of them, and with the nagging Robert emotions.**

**We met Varys! **

**haha, honestly guys, he came out of nowhere, life Petyr... i'll see if he'll return or not... really depends on whether ill need him or not.**

**I loved the Anguy POV... the BwB are my favorite part of SoS (aside from the obvious Arya/Gendry and Brienne/Jaime moments) and I had to bring them back, and I love them to bits! So yea, I brought them back to give us that Jaqen/Osha inside...**

**which segues to Osha!**

**UGH! Yes, i did it! I made the plot more complicated! **

**and finally! Joffrey and Sansa!**

**he's dead. properly dead.**

**I had to give Sansa enough motive to make her go through with it, and in her defense, it was more self defense than anything.**

**But yes. As always, Maddie, i love you! Thanks so much for being an amazing beta.**

**Readers. I love you all too. Every one of you. Your support and reviews really make this so much more enjoyable. Thanks to all of you who review. I really, really appreciate the feedback. It had helped me give shape to the story **

**(to tell you that I had intended to kill Robb, but because of reviewer's pleas, I haven't and i most definitely WON'T)**

**So yes, your reviews count and mean a lot. So keep them coming you wonderful darlings!**

**PS I made another mv/trailer for this fic. i'll post the link on my ff profile. warning, it sorta has spoilers :)**

**you can also check it out on my youtube channel. you'll find me under MsIdril.**

**I love you, all, and until the next update!**


	28. Chapter 28

The beans bubbled in their juice as she stirred them with a wooden spoon; their aroma filling the air of the small kitchenette. Behind her she heard the bread pop out of the toaster. She clicked the burner off, reaching for the plates and serving the beans equally.

Her hands were still shaky.

Most of the first night following the shooting had been in tears: her pillow soaked to the core, and her arms tightly hugging herself as she playing images, and memories in her head. The following morning she'd noticed the slight shaking in her hands, which worsened whenever the boy gave her a hard time.

She grabbed the toast from the toaster, trying to will herself to still the shaking, and brought the plates to the table, where Rickon sat with the same blank expression he'd worn since she brought him to this house, ten days ago, and explained things to him as well as she could without giving away too much.

"Please try and eat," she begged him nervously, placing the plate of steaming beans in front of him, and two pieces of toast beside his glass of water.

She hadn't mentioned anything regarding his parents, of course, when she'd explained their situation to him. She couldn't bring herself to. That was something he had to hear from family, when and if he ever re-united with them. The way the situation had been going this past week, she doubted any of the Starks would make it out alive. Two dead, four missing, present company included, and one living with the Lannisters... all odds were against them. She still prayed for them. Every night. That's all she could do, really. Pray for them, and try and keep Rickon safe. That's all that mattered now. Nothing more. Not the memories of a real past, and the woven lies that made up the new memories.

At nights, when she was sure the boy was asleep, she'd slip out of the small house and into her truck to listen to the radio for news. Updates. Anything.

The house didn't have a radio, computer, or a television, and she'd tossed her mobile away as soon as she'd made it out of the Hall, so she was completely disconnected from everything, the small stereo on her truck the only link to the world.

It was better this way. For Rickon especially. He was curious, and would eventually find out about his family if he had the means to.

He was being as difficult as any kidnapped boy his age should. Barely eating. Rarely speaking. He had failed at running away twice already... but he seemed to believe her story and motives well enough, although he didn't really agree with them.

"Beans are good for you," she said over her shoulder, pulling the chair across from him to sit. "They'll help you grow, and trust me, you need all the growin' you can take."

Rickon looked up at her through his lashes, clearly not amused. He looked so dignified, it almost made her laugh.

His eyes fell on his plate and his lips twitched at the corners, but he didn't make a move to grab his spoon or reach for his toast. He just sat still, staring at the plate and the thick steam that rose from it.

Osha sighed weakly."You're going to get sick if you don't eat." she said rustily.

He just continued to stare at his plate.

She cleared her throat, hoping the lump in it would go away. It didn't.

It had been there, just like the shakiness, since the night at Cutler's Hall.

It happened in a flash. She had been staring at Rickon, who had been with one of his sisters. Arya. She had snatched one of his little cakes off his plate, and popped it in her mouth with a mocking smirk. They had a small exchange of words before she'd stuck her tongue out at him and walked away.

At that moment, Osha had stressed her mind as far as it allowed her to try and find a childhood memory of her and Jaqen. It made her panic a bit, but she kept on searching, until she felt something burst inside of her.

She would have broken down in tears at that second if one of the waiters hadn't pulled her into the kitchen by the arm and placed a tray of small cakes and desert shots on her hands.

The rest of that night was a jumble of memories. Terrible memories. Memories of her, and Jaqen. Memories a girl shouldn't have. At least not with her brother. It was like a choppy, badly edited video, filmed with a shaky camera. And it was playing in her mind. All night.

She had been so disoriented that she had almost missed the shooting, and when it finally happened, all she could think about was saving the little boy she'd met, who had been standing feet away from her.

"If you eat, I'll let you teach me chess. Yeah?" she asked Rickon in her raspy voice. His eyes snapped up to her at that.

"What?" he asked in a small voice.

"I've noticed you eyeing my set over by the bureau," she glanced over at the small chest of drawers near the bed, and back at Rickon. "Do you play?"

Rickon brought up his hands slowly from under the table, sliding one over to grab his spoon. "Uh. No. My brother Bran does. He was teaching me. But I don't remember a lot." He dipped his spoon into the beans, bringing it up to his mouth so he could nibble a few off the edge of the spoon.

Osha smiled at him, spooning some beans on her toast and taking a bite. "My broth..." she stopped herself before she could finish her sentence. He was not her brother! "A man I knew... he taught me. I could teach you."

Rickon chewed slowly, nodding once. "Alright."

Osha smiled back, but if felt too stiff, and ready to crack at the corner if she dared hold it for too long. She hated thinking about _him_. It Always put her in the edgiest of moods.

She hated him. Hated him with every cell in her being.

Because of him, she would spend who knew how long with two different lives in her head. Two different memories. The careful lies he fabricated to reel her in, and keep her by his side; and the sick, disgusting reality. She would live always telling herself that some of those memories were never memories at all, even when she still clung on to them because of how real they had felt when he had offered them up.

_"Do you know who I am?" he asked in his heavy, rich accent._

_"No," Osha said in a nervous, lost voice. "I can't think of anything I do know."_

_He'd reached for her hand then. And the contact felt right. Almost as if her body and skin remembered what her mind didn't._

_"I am your brother. Jaqen. You've been in an accident. The doctors said you're fine, but that you've suffered memory loss._

_"What?" she shook her head, feeling the tears at the edges of her eyes. His hand squeezed her in a warm, comforting way._

_"Don't worry," he whispered softly. "I will help you, remember everything. The whole truth."_

But there was only one truth. She was Osha. Osha the homeless girl. Jaqen's _once_ lover. Osha the wild girl. "Wild one," was his nickname for her. When she had been his lover, and not the classed up sister he had turned her into. Never her. Not after she had cracked and let reality spill in.

She looked up and noticed Rickon's plate was almost empty.

"That's a deal then," she told him, glad he was eating now, talking to her. It would help her to have someone to talk to. To distract her.

She would miss him.

There was no way she could escape going to prison for kidnapping this kid, and for everything she'd done for Jaqen, which she _would_ confess to. So she knew that much about her future, and she didn't want to change it.

All she cared about, was keeping this boy safe, and hidden until all the Lannister, Baratheon, and Stark bullshit came to a proper end.

He was all that mattered now.

xxxxxxxxxx

"Yes?"

_"It's me."_

"I know."

_"Something came up. I have to be somewhere right now. Meet someone."_

"Who?"

_"Gendry. Or so he claims to be."_

"Gendry? Robert's Gendry?"

_"Yes!"_

"And why are you meeting him? Where?"

_"Outside of Sheffield. He called from Jaime's phone. He said he found the phone. Told me who he was. Said he wants to see me. He wants to talk about Robert. He said he wants no part in the will. He asked me to go alone. He said he'll know if I don't."_

"And you're doing it?"

_"Yes."_

"This is so unlike you. I can't believe you believe this person. It's some idiot, and you're behaving like an idiot for even considering going through with..."

_"I DIDN'T CALL YOU FOR YOUR OPINION! I just wanted someone else to know where I would be. In case..."_

"Things go wrong," he finished her sentence with a scoff.

"_I'm just being safe. Ever since Jaime went missing, I feel as though I'm standing on quicksand. I can't sleep. I can't think. I can't eat."_

"You're losing your cool, Cersei."

There was no reply. Just a long, frustrated sigh coming from the other end of the line.

"Don't go. Not like this. If this person is who he says he is, he'll contact you again, and this time you can call the shots."

_"I don't know if there will be another time."_

"There will if they are as interested in talking to you as they sound. And when they do, you'll know you have something one them. Right now though, with you like this... I don't trust it. I don't trust you."

_"Oh shut up, Petyr. I can handle myself. The boy sounded nervous. He was telling the truth. I'm not an idiot I know when I'm being lied to. Besides, I may not have another chance. This was exactly what Jaime and I had been planning all along. To trick the boy into meeting us, thinking it would be Renly. There was an unplanned change in the events that lead to this, but I finally came around to him. This could finally be over tonight. He will be alone. So will I. No one will ever know it was me. . . No more Gendry."_

Petyr felt the smile spread across his face at her manic enthusiasm. "I must say, I'm amazed. Perhaps I underestimated you."

_"I will call you,"_ she told him, sounding a bit more relaxed.

"The best of luck to you, then. Since it seems I can't talk you out of your flawless plan." Petyr said before placing the phone on the receiver.

_"Petyr?"_ Robb called him from another room. There was a bit of anxiety in his voice.

"Coming," Petyr called, walking around his desk and towards the door of his study.

"Come and see this. Quick!"

"Coming. Coming!"

Robb was standing infront of the television, arms crossed over his chest, his eyes wide and glazed. "He woke up." he said in a small voice.

On the television, a man with salt and pepper hair stood in front of Weston Park Hospital, reporting something about some miracle in an overly dramatic tone. What made Petyr's stomach jump, was what he read on the news ribbon that scrolled across the bottom of the screen. _It can't be!_

"Robert woke up!" Robb yelled, laughing hysterically and turning to hug Petyr, who stood several inches shorter than him. "Do you know what this means!?" Robb cried out as he lifted the short man off the floor and tightened his arms around him.

_Yes. I know exactly what this means. It means the whole game just changed, and it's time I change my allegiances._

"It means." Petyr began to say, a bit breathless. Robb caught on and placed the man down on his feet.

Petyr smoothed the wrinkles on his grey sweater and swallowed down the dryness in his throat. "It means. We need to talk, Robb."

xxxxxxxxxx

The shade of green of the dress looks splendid against her skin. He had always considered her beautiful. He knew that now. Even in her hoodie, and torn jeans. Even with short hair and boy clothes.

He remembered the first time he had _looked_ at her... really looked at her. She was in her new haircut and baggy clothes. They were on the tram on their way to the Sheffield station the morning after all hell had broken loose.

_Damn.. that seems like it was ages ago._

She had been staring out the window; the air outside had been misty, and it had looked as though it might snow. Her face had been especially expressive. No guard up. No walls. She had looked beautiful, even neck deep in grief and misery. He wasn't as angry at himself as he had been back then, and so, he could admit that now.

Dressed in Tom's dress, though, she'd become breathtaking and he'd found he couldn't look away.

_"You look different," _he began to tease her... and before he knew it, he was calling her a nice oak tree... and smelling her hair_._

Anguy's hair product mixed with the shampoo in their hotel with just a bit of Arya left . That what she had smelled like that night.

Smelling her had pissed her off. She had whirled around to slam both open palms against his chest, but ended up losing balance, her hand slipping across his body, and her face slamming against his chest, bringing a grunt from her.

He'd caught her by the arm before she could hit the floor, and when he did, something warm crawled though his entire body.

From the way her eyes widened and her brows twitched, he could have bet she had felt it too.

"Are you thinking about your father?" Brienne's voice came from somewhere in the car.

Gendry blinked a few times, ripping himself from his thoughts.

They were both sitting in the front seat of the car they had stolen, hid under the shade of a large building, waiting for Sandor.

Up until now, the only noise in the car came from the sleeping Jaime, who occasionally grunted and moaned in his sleep.

Gendry had been too absorbed in his thoughts, his eyes fixed on the empty, dim lit street before them, that when Brienne spoke, he'd clenched the handle of the gun in his hand.

"If you want to talk, you know I'm here for you."

He loosened his grip on the gun, turning it idly under the dim street light that came through the window. "I'm..." he began, but his voice came out hoarse. He cleared his throat. "Fine," he finished his sentence. "I'm fine."

He knew_ she_ knew it was a lie. The last thing he needed right now was to talk about... anything. Even if he had promised her answers. Even if he should talk about it... it still felt unsafe to talk. He was home now, but it felt just as unsafe as France, and Spain.

This was home, but it was a different home. And he wasn't ready to spill everything out because spilling one thing out would drag the rest along with it. And that would be too overwhelming.

No. He wouldn't talk about it. Not today. When he turned to face her, she had this almost sad, sceptical look on her face, a mixture between disappointment and slight betrayal.

"I'm fine. Promise. I wasn't thinking about Robert. I was thinking about, Arya," he chuckled mirthlessly at the memory. "Arya in a green dress . . . She hated that dress."

"Oh," Brienne shifted her weight on the seat beside him, "You... developed ... feelings for her?"

Gendry blinked hard at her words, almost as if they had stung him. He sighed. "Something like that," he let out a bit tensely. Brienne was his closest friend. His best friend. They told each other _almost_ everything. Almost. Love was never something they discussed. Perhaps because in the months they'd known each other neither one of them had had a love interest, or even dated for that matter.

Her bringing it up now, like that, made him feel a bit uneasy, and quite frankly scared.

"You... should be careful."

His brow rose, reminding him of the swollen cut right above it. "Careful?"

"That your feelings don't influence your actions too much. The girl is important, but she made her choice to leave. And you shouldn't let that cloud everything. You should be looking out for yourself right now. Make this about saving _your_ ass, not the whole of Sheffield."

Gendry's head snapped to face Brienne. "This _isn't_ _just_ about me. It's about all of us! Yoren. Ned. Renly. They're _dead_!" He could feel himself losing grasp of his calm. He took a deep breath in. "This is for them," he said, a bit more calmly.

Brienne licked her lips, blinking twice at him. "I know. I'm sorry. I just... I don't want to see you get hurt. I'm just looking out for you. You've had enough trouble already with this whole Robert thing, you don't need to pile on girl trouble; especially coming from a mind fuck like Arya Stark."

"Mind fuck!" Gendry felt his entire body heat up with fury at that. "You don't know Arya, _alright_. So just leave her out of this. She is not a mind fuck, and I'm too preoccupied with staying alive to fall for anyone. If anyone's being mind fucked, it's _you_."

"What?" Brienne hissed out, stealing a quick glance at the backseat, where Jaime laid. Gendry did too, and thankfully, Jaime was still asleep, despite how loud their "hushed" argument was.

"Do you think I haven't noticed the way you two look at each other? He's trouble, Brienne. He is a murderer."

Brienne turned away from him, jaw clenched tightly. "The only thing I feel for him is pity."

Gendry closed his eyes, blowing out a long, slow sigh. This had gone a bit too far then it should have under their circumstances. He could feel tears welling up behind his closed lids, dampening the rim of his eyes. He hated the whole world right now.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, sniffing once. "I'm just tired, and terrified, and I'm desperate for all of this to end."

"Me too, mate," Brienne whispered, "Me too."

Gendry was about to grab her hand to give her a reassuring squeeze, when a white van pulled up behind them. The headlights flashed a few times, letting them know Sandor was behind the wheel.

Gendry shifted gears, and stepped on the gas, speeding down the lifeless street; Sandor a few feet behind them.

The van he'd taken appeared to belong to a laundromat service. A stupid choice, but at this time of the night, and after everything they had been through, Gendry didn't expect Sandor to use common sense. He had had a feeling the man would be all brute force, but he'd been proven wrong most of the time. Taking a second vehicle not being one of them. He had been against it as soon as Sandor had mentioned it. If they came across trouble, it would be easier to escape... but still, it was foolish. Attracting so much attention like that.

Brienne had oddly agreed with Sandor though, insisting they needed a larger area to set up Varys' equipment, and Gendry didn't really feel like arguing, so he let them have their way.

They made for Kirk Edge Road, and once on it, drove out until Loxley Valley came into view. Gendry scanned the snowy landscape until he saw the perfect spot to hide the van, and edged the car to the side of the road.

"Come on," he whispered to Brienne as he pulled the keys out the ignition and stepped out, walking over towards the van, which Sandor had parked right behind the car. Their surroundings were a shocking white with snow, even in the dark.

Sandor hopped out of the van, his legs sinking almost knee deep into the brown mushy snow at the edge of the tires.

"This is as far as you guys go," Gendry said as soon as Brienne had joined them, "Hide your... _stake out _van deep in that bushes there." Gendry pointed to a tight group of tall shrubs a few feet from where he'd parked. "She'll be looking for anything suspicious, so really hide it in there. Don't leave the ass hanging out or something. She _has_ to take this road, so you'll see her before I do, and you can tell me if anyone is with her, or following her, so I can make a run for it. I have the ear piece."

Sandor nodded and walked towards the back opening the doors. The back of the van was empty and Gendry didn't know whether it was already empty or Sandor emptied it out on the street back there, wherever he'd stolen it from. He bet on the latter.

Brienne helpd Sandor quickly transfer all the equipment from the stolen car to the stolen van while Gendry helped the sleepy Jaime walk from the car to the van, helping him on through the back. He was burning up with fever. And he smelled.

"Brienne," he called to her while Sandor drove the van deep into the small trees.

"What?"

"He smells like he has an infection. And he's burning up."

Brienne took in the information like a soldier would take unpleasant orders. With nothing but a stiff nod. They both knew what that meant, but they would have to deal with that after he met up with Cersei.

The van was hidden. The equipment and the moribund were in it. It was Gendry's game from here.

"Alright. I'll see you two in a bit," he told Sandor and Brienne as they stood themselves before him. Brienne closed the distance between them, and wrapped her arms around him in a huge bear hug.

"Be careful," she whispered to his ear.

Gendry gave her a strong squeeze before he pulled away, nodding he. "Of course I will," he said coolly, not revealing his nerves, even when his voice cracked a bit. "I'll be fine, mate."

He nodded once at Sandor, and turned for the car. Something caught his arm.

He turned, expecting Brienne, only to realize it was Sandor.

"Let _me_ go."

"What?" Gendry cried, pulling his arm free of Sandor's grip.

"I worked for her. I can get more out of her than you can. It's safer. And smarter."

"I agree," Brienne stepped beside them, "With him, she would feel free to talk. Really talk. About everything. More open to argument. That's better for us. We will record it all."

"No! No way," Gendry raised his hands in the air, "I'm already wired up. Varys took forever with this shit. There's no time. She's on her way." he turned, walking towards the car.

"Gendry, please. Sandor's right, you..."

Gendry turned slowly to face them both, holding his hand up at Brienne to silence her. "I'm doing this. I need to. For me. Not just for Arya. Or a promise to Sansa, or to record Cersei's confession so that we can bring justice to our friend's deaths... but for me."

Brienne and Sandor nodded almost at the same exact time.

He could see in their eyes, even in the dim, crisp darkness of the night, that they disagreed, but understood completely that this was the way it had to go. He nodded one last time and turned, treading his way through the thick snow and towards the car.

"I'll be back," he called out to them without a last glance.

He really hoped that was true.

xxxxxxxxxx

"What's your name?"

"Arya."

He clenched his teeth together. "Arya what?"

"I..." her gaze fell to her hands, which were still wrinkled from the long exposure to water. She closed her mouth and swallowed once, lost in thought.

He didn't want to push for too much. It had been almost three hours since they'd finished and he still wanted to be careful not to make her stir her thoughts too much. It was too risky so soon after finishing the downstairs procedure.

There was a loose thread on the rim of the right sleeve of the grey jumper she wore, and she began to pull at it; rolling it into a little ball, then pulling it, then rolling it again. Over and over again.

Jaqen waited patiently, liking too much the empty expression on her face. It meant all the fierceness and anger was gone, which meant that whatever fuelled it was no longer a part of her. All signs that the procedure had worked.

When she spoke again, her voice betrayed how lost she felt.

"I. Don't know. Just Arya."

"Tell me, just Arya, do you know my name?" he set his glass down on the coffee table, sitting back lazily on his sofa.

"Jaqen."

He nodded once, looking away from her and out of the large glass wall, onto the dark night. It made him restless not to be able to read her like he had Osha.

When he had performed the wipe on Osha, she had asked questions the moment they were done, and she didn't remember her own name or Jaqen's, or anything.

From what he'd noticed so far, it seemed as though Arya's wipe had been more selective. Only sticking to a certain area of her memories. If that was the case, it would take him forever to figure out which bits she chose to forget. He didn't have forever, but he couldn't risk being caught lying to her, for fear of losing her trust, rendering the entire exercise pointless.

Arya sighed, turning his attention back to her. "Is something wrong, love..." he stopped himself before he could call her 'lovely girl'. _Be more careful, Jaqen. Patient, and careful._

xxxxxxxxxx

Jaime was, indeed burning up in fever. He tried to play it off, pretending he was perfectly fine, but the shine and cockiness in his eyes was gone, leaving them dull, and fearful.

_Good._

Brienne had packed the cabin's first aid kit, and was cleaning up his wounds. Sandor wanted to tell her now to waste her time, but he knew it would be pointless, and without a doubt, would lead into an argument, so he rolled his eyes and stuck to setting up the equipment. It had started to snow lightly outside, but that would help to both cover their tyretracks, and to catch the light of Cersei's headlights, so that any small anomalies in her surrounding wouldn't attract her attention. You could never be too careful. Not with that woman.

Gendry had radioed his location to them, which was about a kilometre and a half away from where they were, and the van had grown quiet after that. Not even Jaime spoke a word, even though he was wide awake.

It made Sandor claustrophobic; being in such a small space with Brienne and Jaime, breathing in the thickness of the atmosphere, feeling the anticipation slowly warm the blood in his body. He hated waiting. But that's all there was left to do now. Wait. Wait for Cersei.

He was forced to endure it for 15 minutes more before the flicker of distant headlights came to view from far up the road. Sandor flew to the window, wiping the condensation off it with his sleeve, and bringing his face up against the glass so he could see though the branches.

"Is it her?" Brienne demanded anxiously, crawling over to him on the small cramped space.

"Carefull with the wires!" he barked at her without turning away from the window. "I can't see yet. She's too far, and the snow picked up, so I can't see the car too well."

"You need to now before she passes us. We need to warn Gendry."

Sandor gritted his teeth. "Don't you think I know that, you stupid bitch."

The car was nearing, and he could see now, that it was Cersei. "It's her. Hand me the microphone," he said, holding his hand out at her. She ignored him, and pressed the talk button on the computer.

"Gendry," she spoke into the microphone, " She's on her way." She shoved her shoulder past Sandor to look out the window. "She's about to pass our van."

Gendry simply said, "Ok."

Sandor was about to say something to her when Jaime cut him off. "This isn't going to work," he muttered, but he didn't seem to believe it himself.

Brienne shoved her way around Sandor, giving him enough room to get to the equipment. He gave everything one last check, raising the volume on Gendry's gear.

"_She's here_," he whispered.

Sandor could hear the car pull up, and then a car door slam.

"Here we go," he whispered, wiping his hand over his face.

xxxxxxxxxx

The boy stepped out of his car the moment she pulled up next to him, and there was no room for doubt. This was Robert's son.

Cersei could feel her heart beating on her fingertips as she slammed the car door behind her, and walked over to the tall boy though a foot of snow.

"Oh my God," she uttered without meaning to. She was staring at Robert. Robert from all those years ago. Before he began to drink too much. When he was every woman's desire. She dug her fingernails into the pads of her hand inside of her coat pocket, to keep herself from exploding.

"Hi," he told her stiffly. It became too difficult to look at him, when all she saw was Robert, so she let her gaze stray to their surroundings.

"You picked the perfect spot to meet." she huffed out in dry sarcasm.

"I had to be careful," he said.

She smiled, trying to hide her nerves, and turned to boldly look him straight in the eyes. "Well, I'm here. So tell me what you need to tell me."

Gendry cleared his throat, and when he spoke, he did with authority and coldness.

"I know what you're doing," he began, taking a step towards her. She did a good job of not flinching. "And I want you to stop."

She laughed at that. "And what exactly am I doing, according to you?"

"This business withNed Stark's family for starters. I think you've damaged them long enough. That has to stop. This idiotic obsession with a will I want no fucking part in, it has to stop. Your husband... I want nothing to do with the bloke. Or your family, or his money. I don't want him in my life, yet you're destroying lives to make sure I am not part of his. I want you to stop. I'm only giving you one option. That is to come clean. Turn yourself in, bring an end to this all, or you'll leave me no choice but to bring you in myself."

Cersei threw her head back, taking two steps towards Gendry as she laughed hysterically. Gendry looked freaked and confused. Good. He was an idiot, and she had overestimated him.

"And who filled your head with all that nonsense?" she said after she'd composed herself.

"It's not nonsense," he said stupidly.

"Oh, but it is. Someone went out of their way to create this intricate tapestry of lies, and you've tangled yourself in their filth. So, who was it? Tell me, my fierce bull. Who's the source of it all?"

"That's not important, okay. What's important is that it's true, and like I said, I won't be giving you no other option."

Cersei chuckled, shaking her head lightly. "Oh you stupid, foolish boy . . . No. No, I will not turn myself in."

Gendry's jaw stiffened, and his head turned to the side defiantly, sending the flakes of snow that had collected on his dark hair down in a flurry. The stubborn look on his face sent all the blood to her head in a rush.

"I have waited!" she yelled out, her voice carrying over the valley in a menacing way. "Half my life I have waited. I played the dutiful daughter... the blushing bride... the pliant wife! I have endured my father's demands, and your drunken father's neglect, and groping, and my brother's jealousy, and if you think you will cheat me of my hour in the sun, you better bloody think again!"

Her fingers curled around the gun inside the deep pocket of her coat and she pulled it out swiftly, cocking in with her other hand.

Gendry made a quick move too, and she found herself staring down the barrel of his gun, and that he was staring down the barrel of hers.

"Fire that gun, and Jaime dies!"

xxxxxxxxxx

His insides turned to ice at the sound of two guns cocking, and again when Gendry said, "Fire that gun, and Jaime dies!"

"I'm going out there!" Brienne said, but Sandor caught her by the arm in an iron grasp. "You will not."

_"Jaime? Where is he?" _Cersei said. Brienne exchanged a look with him before sighing in surrender. He released her hand and turned up the volume on the screen.

_"That doesn't matter. Just know that we have him, and my people have orders to kill him if something happens to me."_

Sandor glanced over at Jaime, who despite his state, sat alert, facing the screen with a frozen expression.

"Guess what? That sick love she has for you just became her doom." Sandor told the blonde with acid in his voice. They'd done it. They'd actually done it.

For a long moment, there was nothing. Not one sound, and Sandor could feel his arms heat with impatience. Finally, Cersei spoke. Very softly and almost inaudibly.

_"A sacrifice I am willing to take. Call it collateral damage."_

At those words Sandor turned to Brienne, whose head had snapped towards Jaime. For the brief moment he was staring at her face, he could see sympathy in her big blue eyes. But then a gunshot turned all of their attentions to the screen.

"Gendry!" Sandor yelled into the microphone. "Gendry!"

There was no reply for the 4 longest seconds of his life, before he finally heard, "I'm okay. She's running, I'm going after her."

Brienne snatched the microphone from Sandor before he could say anything else.

"Gendry. Don't, We have the recording. You don't need to go after her. Let her run," she said desperately, but Gendry didn't reply.

"Fuck!" Sandor cried out, enraged, and kicked the van doors open, jumping out. He could hear the load engine of cars as they sped East. Towards them.

He swatted away at branches as he made his way out of the large bushes that hid the van, and towards the road. He could hear Brienne struggling behind him. He could hear the hiss of the tires on the snowy road, and the approaching engines, louder and louder. He made it out of the bushes on time to see both cars speed by him and around the curve in the road. Both cars were hydroplaning, but it was Gendry's that made a 180 degree turn in the snowy road before flipping over a few times, ending up on its side.

"Gendry!" Brienne shrieked as she ran towards the flipped car.

It took Sandor a few seconds to react and finally run towards the car too.

"Gendry! Gendry!" Brienne cried out hysterically. He could hear the tears in her voice.

They made it to the car at the same time, and he yanked the door open, and reached in to free Gendry from his seat belt.

"Gendry! Answer me!" Brienne wailed behind him.

"Grab his shoulder. Careful." Sandor told her, and she did, helping him carefully pull him out of the car and only the snow.

His head face was full of blood and he was limp. Lifeless.

Brienne threw herself on the snow besides his body and pulled him into her arms, leaning against his chest to find a beat. She looked up at Sandor with wet eyes. "He's not . . . he's not breathing," she sobbed out in her deep voice before digging her face into Gendry's neck.

"I'll bring the van," Sandor said with a dry mouth as he ran towards the van with snow heavy boots and a hollow in his chest. He could hear Brienne wailing incoherently behind him, which only chilled him more than he already was.

_Why! Fuck damn it! Why!_

He asked himself over and over again until he made it to the van, and pushed himself onto the driver's seat, sliding the key in the ignition, turning quickly to check on Jaime, only to realize he was gone, and the equipment trashed.

And at that moment, he wept. Letting his face fall forward into his arms as his entire body shook against the steering wheel with his loud sobs.

Gendry was dead... their evidence trashed...

"I've failed you little bird. I failed you."

**AN**

**Finally! **

**Ugh! A million "i'm sorry" to you all. I had a crap load of stuff pile on me at once. Work, two plays, one I was directing and managing (writing a script, making costumes, rehearsals every day, fundraising, directing, etc) and one I was acting in. plus the holidays sort of came in, and prep for tax season, and me catching up on sleep and rest. **

**But i'm back, plays are over, and I'm not back in school until August :) so i will be updating like i was at the beginning of the story. For those who tagged along later, that was roughly once a week, give or take a few days.**

**So! I dedicate this chapter partially to AuroreMartell and her love of Rickon. This one is for you darling. So we know that Osha indeed had Rickon, and that she now remembers everything, and it's properly messed her up. **

**Also, the Sandor/Brienne/Gendry/Jaime scenes were so heavy on feelings. All four of them are just so... "AGHHH! Babies!"**

**I know it feels like not a lot happened in this chapter. This was one of those segue chapters. Sort of like chapter 10, where everything changes after it, well after this chapter, I hope to dramatically change the pace for everyone. And I mean everyone. I want to pick it up, because one of the changes will be that all those POV that scattered all over the map after the Cutler's Hall shooting will begin to come back together, and the focus will be more clear. You'll see it and understand it better when you begin to read it in the chapters to come.**

**I love you all dearly, even if I don't know any of you. You have all made this worth while. I love and trully appreciate all of your reviews. Please keep them coming, and again, im sorry it took me so long. Life came in the way.**


	29. Chapter 29

**Warning! Time jump during this chapter. Marked buy the bold POV dividers **_  
_

_"He was running after me. He wanted to kill me, I had no choice!"_

Daenerys paused the video, staring at the frozen image of a devastated Sansa Stark for a few moments before scrolling forward, until she came to a woman sitting in the dim interrogation room.

She pressed play.

_"It was around 2:00 a.m. The children were in bed. The staff was all in bed. That's when we heard the screams. Andrew was the first one there. I found him unconscious on the floor, and master Joffrey was banging on his father's study. That's when I ran downstairs to get Stephen."_

_"Did Joffrey look like he was a danger to Sansa."_

_"Yes. He seemed to be drunk, and he was furious. Like I said earlier. He knocked Andrew unconscious."_

_"You saw this happen with your own eyes?"_

_"No. But Andrew told me that's what happened."_

She skipped ahead again, scrolling forward until Robb Stark was on the screen; the lighting in the interrogation room making his features seem haggard.

_"Do you think there is any reason your sister would want to intentionally kill her fiancee?"_

_"No! Sansa adored him. No one in my family ever understood why . . . but she did."_

Dany scrolled ahead, stopping on an older gentleman. Andrew, the Baratheon's butler.

_"We were all so restless, because of the new. Robert had awoken from him coma. I was in the kitchen, when I heard the screams. I made for upstairs, and saw the young girl, running towards me and calling for help. Joffrey was behind her. He looked like he was going to kill her. He hit me right when I had reached her, and all went black."_

She skipped ahead to a man in his early 20's, Stephen. Another staff member of the Baratheon's manor.

_"Was Joffrey a violent man?"_

_"You could say that. We weren't that far apart in age. I have friends that remind me of Joffrey. They hit their girlfriends. I wasn't surprised that he did what he did. He always had this look in his eyes when he stared at Sansa. Blood lust."_

Dany paused the video to think.

This was the third time she'd reviewed it's content, and her thoughts were driving her mad. Something wasn't adding up. Things were falling too neatly into place. Too suddenly. After over a week of searching for answers, they were all falling on their laps.

The pressed the space bar, and the video began to play again.

_"Where have you been all this time? Your mother commited suicide, yet it was your sister who claimed the body when you we're nowhere to be found."_

_"I was staying with a family friend. Things didn't work out though."_

_"You were in Spain with your brother and mother, when your father was killed and your brother and sister went missing, but you didn't come to look for them, or make sure they the police was doing their job. A few days pass, and your mother is found. She shot herself. But you're still nowhere to be seen. Now you tell us you've been here for days. You left your brother with your senile grandfather in Spain... so that you could come and stay with a family friend?"_

_"Yes. But's that only your side of events. There's a reason why..."_

_"Oh, please, do tell! I'm eager to hear your lies."_

Dany closed the laptop and pressed the pads of her palms against her closed eyes, rubbing violently. She had a massive headache.

Not 24 hours ago, yet another name had been added to their body count... only this time, they knew exactly who had been the killer. Sansa Stark.

The girl had been in shock for a good three hours before they were able to crack through to her. Lucky for her, the entire Baratheon staff had testified on her behalf, so she was allowed to go home as soon as she gave a brief declaration.

Her eldest brother Robb had appeared out of nowhere and taken his sister to a hotel, since taking her to their house was out of the question.

Dany had wanted to question him further, in regards to the shooting, and his other siblings, but he had insisted he needed to take his sister to rest and promised he would return.

She didn't doubt he would.

There was an urgent knock on her office door, and Jorah walked in before she could call him in, his face drained of all it's color.

"What is it?" she stood from her desk, walking around it so that she came a few feet away from Jorah.

"I just recieved a call from the hospital." he took a long pause, unbuttoning his jacket as he walked over to her chaise to sit.

"And?" Dany demanded, hating the unnecessary suspense.

"There has been an accident on Kirk Edge. A car flipped due to ice on the road." he took another pause, making her snap.

"There is no need for suspense, Jorah. What happened?"

"The call was from a Brienne Tarth. She was..."

"Roommates with Renly. She went MIA after he was shot."

"You'll never believe who was in the car that flipped."

"Who?"

"Gendry Waters."

"The other missing officer."

"Who happens to be Robert Baratheon's son, according to Brienne, and who had been traveling with Arya Stark up until a couple of days ago." Dany's jaw dropped, and she felt the room spin. "Yes. And that's not the half of it." Jorah continued. "He flipped because he was chasing Cersei, who apparently met him out there so they could discuss a will. Robert's will. Tarth claims that Cersei was recorded confessing to everything. All the deaths, all the missing children. Cutler's Hall... the Starks. She's to blame for it all, and all because of the will. She fled when Gendry confronted her."

"Is that why she wasn't picking up her mobile when Joffrey was killed."

"Most likely. Can you believe this. All of this over a will."

"Yes. I can. This is very convenient. Did you send for Brienne?"

"Yes. Two of my officers are on their way to the hospital to pick her up. Convenient?"

"Yes. All of it. The entire events... all rooting back to a will."

"How is that convenient?"

"Two missing officers emerge from their hiding places..." Dany began to pace back and forth in front of her desk, "two officers, might I add, that are presumed witnesses to both the death of Yoren and Renly. One who can link us to one of the missing Stark kids. Plus, Robb Stark. He also comes out of hiding. All on the same night we happen to get these tapes with Cersei's confession. Some bull shit about this will."

"Bull shit?" Jorah interrupted with genuined curiosity and intrigue in his voice.

"Yes! Bull shit!" Dany cried out, running around her desk and yanking a drawer open, fingering through the files. "Do you remember . . . who found and hired . . . " she pulled a file out and ran towards Jorah. " . . . Gendry?"

She placed the open file on his lap and pointed at a highlighted paragraph.

"When questioned, all the men and women in Ned Stark's unit said that it was rumored that Ned himself had looked for Gendry the morning after a night he had been arrested, and soon after he was working at the station, having finished his training in half the time as any other officer. A few months pass, and his daughter becomes engaged to Joffrey Baratheon. Then the shooting happens, and Ned is blamed... his family scatters. After a few days, Gendry appears, with a recording that cleans Ned's name turning him from backstabbing murderer to martyr and Cersei into a jealous psychopath. All on the same night that Robert waked from his comma, Robb returns home and Joffrey is murdered. Joffrey. Robert's other son, who without a doubt was in that will."

During her entire tirade, Jorah had gone from sitting to standing, and he was now staring at the floor, his brows furrowed deep in concentration.

"So... you're saying..."

"That this reeks of a well thought out plan. All tracing back to Ned. Finding Robert's bastard kid, and Renly Baratheon's roommate, both to work for him. Ensuring the engagement of his daughter and Joffrey, gaining her access, and this will. Which would guarantee his name would be wiped clean."

"You're overthinking this too much." Jorah said, shaking his head and turning to gather the file into it's folder.

Dany stared at his slow, tired movements, feeling herself deflate too quickly. Perhaps she was. It had been a very long night.

Jorah placed the file on her desk and grabbed her keys, turning to her. "Let's get you home. I'll have Elizabeth drive you." he told her, placing his hand on the small of her back and guiding her out of the room, and down the empty hall, towards the lifts.

The drive home was long, and by the time she made it to her flat, she was too tired to even remove her coat, or her heels.

She let herself fall onto her sofa, and fell asleep instantly.

That night, she dreamt of Drogo.

**xxxxxxxxxx**

Once satisfied with her stance, Jaqen began to teach her moves, and made her repeat the same move over and over again until she was sure her limbs would explode. She hated him at moments when the pain grew almost unbearable. When she felt her body about to shut down from the shock and desperation.

But, surprisingly too soon, she realized that each learned move was becoming automatic, turning into a habit. And by the second day, when she began to put the moves together to spar, she felt it slowly turning into instinct.

Her mind was still a blank sheet of paper, and in it only a few things that had managed to stick.

_My name is Arya. _

_Jaqen is my friend. I just don't remember because of the training accident. _

_I am no one. I have no weaknesses._

It felt real enough, and Jaqen seemed the only thing that suited her quite well. At least ever since she'd jumped out of the ice tub and into his arms two days ago, with no memories of anything or anyone. He'd felt safe, and normal, and almost like home.

Most of the time.

At night, when she allowed her mind to rest, she felt the ragged edges of her empty thoughts gnawing their way into her head, trying to fill her mind. This had happened both nights since she'd "woken" from her trauma. Both nights she had panicked, springing off her pillow and crawling out of her bed, and away from the unknown that threatened to make itself known.

It was almost like a door. A massive door she shouldn't open. A door she had a key to.

Curiosity killed the cat.

She couldn't remember where she'd heard that before. But she believed it quite well. She was a cat, and she should stay on this side of the door and stray from giving into her curiousity.

Why?

Well . . . that was another door all in itself. A question fueled by curiosity.

_Don't ask questions, little cat. _

She began to call herself Cat for this reason. On the second morning, she told Jaqen this, and he nodded without questioning it, yet seeming almost pleased at the news.

He began calling her Cat, never once missing or messing up.

Training had begun instantly, and that helped because it filled her mind almost entirely.

Jaqen spoke almost never. He had asked a few questioned after her "trauma". But now he mostly stuck to small talk.

He was very handsome. She felt something for him. Something very strong, and almost burning. Her accident prevented her from deciphering what it had once been, so she decided to start fresh. Grow to feel for him and know him all over again until she could remember what it had been... if she ever remembered.

"We're friends. Just friends." he had answered her with a smile when she'd asked him.

She remembered his name just fine. His name and hers. That was all. So he must have meant something to her. She was living with him.

He was several years older than her. She hadn't brought herself to ask him. Not yet.

But from the way he had said, "Just friends." and from the guarded way he behaved around her, she crossed out lovers.

He wasn't really her type. If she had a type. Did she? Was her type even male?

She had stood before the mirror the first day after she'd showered to warm herself from the clinging chill that had soaked into her from the ice tub.

Her hair was shaggy, boy short mess. Her body small and boyish. Only her breasts betrayed her sex.

Her face was plain, in her opinion, and not too femenine.

There was two large bruises under each breast, along her ribs. Probably from training. There two more one on her face, along each cheekbone, and also a cut on her lip.

When she had been showering, she'd removed the pealing bandages around her wrists and revealed two deep, water swollen bruised burns around each wrist. Her fingers had touched one absentmindedly. They looked angry, and not from training.

Taking in the whole of her appearance, she came to the conclusion that she was not Jaqen's type, confirming that they were, in fact, not lovers.

Best mates, perhaps.

Sitting across him on the tall countertop, staring at his face, taking in his lovely features, it felt like a true shame.

"Can I use a real sword today." she said when the silence had gone from natural to boring.

He looked up at her from his book with careful eyes, and swallowed the food in his mouth before speaking. "Not today, lovely Cat."

Arya sighed out in an exaggerated manner, earning a smile from him.

There had been an almost familiarity about the scene on the first morning, when she'd stood in the studio that took up the entire third floor and had blushed at his hands on her. Slowly pushing her thighs apart slightly. Then pressing gently behind her knee so that she knew to bend it.

Here and there he touched her with firm, yet feathery touches until she was standing exactly as he needed her to.

She practiced until her body automatically returned to that stance.

To her surprise, the second day she was already using a wooden sword. Jaqen told her he had underestimated her ability to learn and put into practice that which she had learned. She believed him only when she noticed he'd gone from careful, to bold. From feigning, to actually parrying, so that by the end of that second day, they were circling each other across the room, her wood sword slamming against his, and his features changing from surprise to pleasure.

She was pleased with herself too.

"You should eat." Jaqen told her, glancing to her untouched food. "You'll need the energy."

Arya felt a complaint rise up her throat, but she swallowed it back down and picked up her fork and stabbed her cold eggs with it, bringing them to her mouth. She finished the entire content of her plate, and even volunteered to do the dishes.

They each went into their separate rooms to change into more comfortable clothing.

Arya found some black yoga pants and a fitted muscle shirt. Nothing in her closet appealed to her. Everything was new. It smelled new. She had asked Jaqen about it, but he shrugged it off, and she didn't ask anything else, even though she wanted to.

_It's not like he knows when I go shopping. _

For what it was worth, she had classy, expensive taste in clothing.

She jogged up the spiral staircase cheerfully, too excited to train, but stopped at the door when she saw a smiling Jaqen holding, not the wooden swords they'd used the day before, but red bo staffs.

"This is why I cannot use a sword yet?" she asked in a bit of a smart-ass tone. The small smile on his face turned into wide, toothy grin. He threw a bo her way and she clumsily caught it with both hands.

"The swords were just a test. I wanted to see what skills you remembered. It is not swordsmanship you're learning here. We don't live in the Medieval Ages."

Arya tightened her grip on the wooden staff. "Then what am I learning?" she asked.

Jaqen took a step towards her, and began to gracefully spin the staff around him, his hands almost never touching it. He used his sides, his neck, his shoulders, his chest.

It was over too quickly, the bo in one hand, held parallel to the floor.

Arya realized her lips were slightly parted in awe.

"I want you to figure that out on your own. All over again. But if you need something, then I give you this... what you're leaning, is control."

And like that, in the blink of an eye, his staff was slicing through the air, and Arya instinctively lifted her with both hands just in time to block his hit. The clap of wood slamming into wood echoed in her ears as she stared up, wide eyed, at Jaqen through their crossed sticks.

"Breathe." he whispered.

Her chest rose as air filled it. She didn't even realized she'd been holding her breath.

Jaqen's staff disconnected from hers, and swung around, making a red arc in the air before slamming behind her feet and knocking her on her back painfully.

"Time your breaths." he said, swinging at her thigh. "Exhale!" he shouted. Arya gasped in pain angrily. He slammed the end of the staff against her other thigh; the pain veining deep into her butt. She clenched her jaw, pushing herself into a sitting position and awkwardly lifting the too long pole in an attempt to hit Jaqen. He blocked it, of course.

"Get on your feet!" he said, slamming the stick against her ribs, hitting right in the center of the tender skin of her bruise. Arya groaned and dropped the staff so that she could cup her ribs with both hands.

"Get up!" he barked furiously, hitting her shoulder. Then her other bruise. Then her back. Then her leg. Over and over again he hit her with pitiless blows, until the pain was too enraging that she surprised herself but catching the end of his staff in mid air and twisting it, despite the pain that bit into her, so that he had no other choice but to let it go. She bit her lip. Hard. And in one move, the staff painted a full arc in the air before stricking behind his feet with enough force to trip him to the floor.

He landed on his side, catching himself with both hands before his face could hit the padded floor. His head snapped to her, eyes flaring with fury, which turned to surprise, and then challenge in the space of a moment.

They both sprang to their feet in seconds.

Arya was sore all over, and if she had time, she could have easily counted the amount of bruises she could add her current count. Instead, she reached for the staff she'd tossed aside when she'd been on the floor and tossed it at Jaqen. He caught it with one hand an twirled it in the air, circling around her. She loosened the grasp on hers and took a few steps back. Jaqen smiled at her.

Arya smiled back and swung at his side. He blocked it, replying with a blow of his own, which she blocked too. Her face twisted into a sinister smile.

She took a step towards him to push him back and hastily took two back, and then the fight began.

Her senses flared, and she took it all in. The click of the staffs slamming into each other. The loud clap of blocked blows, and almost blocked blows. The staffs whirling in the air... Arya became both thrilled and perplexed at herself. How was she doing this... fighting him?

He hit her twice in one move, then had her pinned against one wall, but she slammed against him, and slipped away to one side... then the dance began all over again.

Click! Click! Clap! Click! Clap! Clip! Click!

Clap!

Clip! Click! Clap! Click! Clap!

One blow blocked. One blow missed. An eight shape in the air, and she was face down on the floor. One swift roll on her back, and she was blocking another blow, and lurching to her feet.

Jaqen blocked one blow. Delivered another. Blocked. Blocked again. She was growing tired. Her arms growing heavy and heavy with each move. Her breaths coming out in ragged huffs and puffs.

"Exhale!" he yelled while slamming his staff against hers. "Time your exhalation to your blows!"

Slowly Arya grew conscious of each existing bruise in her body. Of the sting of the cut on her lip that throbbed every time she parted her lips to inhale.

And her arms. Her lead arms.

She was on her back on the floor again... and he was hitting her. Over and over again, until the tip of the staff came under her chin and he stood right above her, one foot on each side of her, exhaling loudly.

"Yield." he said.

Arya let her arms fall to the floor, and closed her eyes; her chest rising and falling violently, making her bruises tingle in pain.

She heard Jaqen chuckle, and the wounded pride she felt gave her enough strength to roll to one side, and against his foot so that he lost balance and fell on his back.

With both hands tight around her staff, she straddled his waist and pushed the pole deep into his throat.

"Yield." she said harshly; lips curled back in a snarl, revealing her teeth.

A spark shone in his eyes, and he looked up at her with a intense, almost animalistic glare, sending a wave of excitement down to her belly. "I. Yield." he said slowly.

Arya looked away from his eyes nervously, and rose off him, thankful her face was already red from the fight.

She sorely made her way to the thin table at the far end of the studio and grabbed a bottled water, uncapping it roughly and taking a very small sip, even when her body asked for more.

"That was intense." she called over her shoulder to him.

"Was?" he called back. Arya turned to him, brows furrowed. Jaqen had slipped the bo staffs on their rack on the wall, and was now holding a black blindfold. "It's not over yet, my lovely Cat."

Arya gasped out sharply. Her muscles tightened at the mere thought of ever fighting again.

Jaqen crossed to the wall and instead of reaching for the bo staffs, grabbed two spears from the rack, with a blade on each end of the pole.

"What is that!" Arya choked out, wide eyed. "You're out of your mind!"

"This is a Yari. And yes. I am." he said as he crossed to her. "Put it on." he commanded, draping the black cloth over her shoulder. Arya met his eyes. They were serious. She returned his stare with a severe one of her own, shaking her head. "No." she said.

He smiled. "I'm glad to know your brazen nature wasn't stolen from you during the accident."

"I could get hurt. Seriously hurt. You could kill me."

He leaned close to her face. "Don't let me." he whispered.

"I won't see anything."

"But you'll hear. Smell. Taste. Feel. And you'll see me..." Arya's eyes squinted at him, clearly not amused. "in your mind's eye." he continued. "You'll see exactly what move I'll make," he slipped the Yari into her suddenly cold fingers and set his down on the table, carefully, so that he could use both hands to blindfold Arya. "...and you'll block it."

Arya's hands were trembling as she held the spear with fearful fingers. Jaqen blindfolded very carefully, and let a soft finger trail down her neck to her clavicle. She shuddered.

One hand resting hesitantly on her waist, he led her to the center of the room.

"Are you ready?" he asked from somewhere in the room.

"No." she said flatly. Then heard the whistle of blade coming at her face. In her mind Jaqen stood before her, so with her left hand, she lifted the left side of the Yari, and sure enough, the ringing of steel let her know she had been right. Her body relaxed a bit. _I can do this. I can do this. I can._

"Good." Jaqen said. She could see him standing there, from the direction his voice came from. She could really see him.

She found her balance, and gripped the Yari confidently. They began to fight slowly, and she loved every second of it. The vibration of her other senses performing at their highest capacity.

Jaqen picked up on her pace, and the steel song of their clashing blades was the perfect background music to their fluid dance-like movements. She could almost see the sparks the blades created with every crash.

But then, the blade silently bit into leg, and Arya hissed out loudly, clenching her teeth at the infernal fire that pulsed into her leg. The aggressive colors and figures the pain created behind her closed lids was jarring.

"Why did you do that!" Jaqen yelled; his words tripping over themselves at the urgency of their delivery, that his accent was heavier than she'd ever heard before. "Why didn't you block it!"

Arya heard the clatter of the Yari being forcefully slammed against the floor.

"I'm fine!" she growled, blinking at the tears. She was as angry at herself as he was. She had allowed her confidence to cloud her other senses. She wouldn't let it happen again. "I'm ready." she managed to utter. "Again."

"No." he answered.

Arya ignored the pain, energized by the adrenaline her injury had triggered, and she began slashing at the air before her, taking several steps in the direction of Jaqen's voice. "Again!" she cried, her hands swinging the Yari, attacking her way towards Jaqen.

The ring of her blade hitting his let her know they were fighting again. Good.

They very slowly built up the pace of their moves, but Jaqen was being careful now. She could feel it. And the blood from her cut had thickly trailed down into her shoe, making her right footing slippery.

But she was fighting. She was hurt. And blindfolded. But she was fighting.

xxxxxxxxxx

Ever since Lem's shocking revelation about the mind wipe practice, Anguy had been out of sorts.

When Jaqen asked to see him, Anguy's reaction was a mere roll of his eyes.

He had been expecting it. Ever since he'd walked in on the "mind wipe" in the basement. He'd known his nosiness would have consequences, and he was prepared to face them.

It was that attitude that made his drive to Jaqen's house almost relaxing. He drove down the very long, curvy driveway and pulled up next to Jaqen's car, turning the engine off.

He had a key to the house, but he still rung the doorbell. No anwer. He tried again.

Nothing.

He pulled his keys out and slipped the house key into the lock and turned. Just as he walked into the warm house, he saw Jaqen, followed by Arya, walking down the spiral staircase.

Anguy felt anger rise in him at the sight of Arya, and at the sight of him, Jaqen stiffened.

Arya was dressed in what looked like a workout outfit, her hair matted down with sweat, looking too at home. Her eyes darted from Jaqen to Anguy with a look that let him know that she had no idea who he was.

"Hi Arya." he said anyway, challenging her memory. Besides. As far as Jaqen was concerned, Anguy knew nothing of the procedure.

"Uh. Hi." she said flatly. Her eyes were still hers, and they still had that fire in them. The anger, and despair were all gone though.

_Is that why you did this? To forget your pain?_

"Arya. This is Anguy. You know him." Jaqen said carefully.

"Oh."

"Of course you know me," he turned to Jaqen "... you didn't have to tell her that."

Jaqen squinted his eyes dangerously at Anguy. "Arya. Will you excuse us. Anguy. My office."

Arya grimaced at Jaqen's sudden change in mood, but shrugged it off. "I'll go... shower." she announced, but Jaqen was already walking to his office, ignoring her.

"See you later, Arya." Anguy said to her before following Jaqen down one of the corridors and into his office.

"Don't pretend you don't know. Because you do." was the first thing he said once they were in the privacy of the spacious office.

Anguy parted his lips to speak, but Jaqen lifted a hand, cutting him off. "Don't speak. You don't speak. You listen. Understood?"

Anguy nodded.

Jaqen nodded once at him, before crossing to the small bathroom in the office, watching out with a hand towel, which he pressed against his sweaty face. "Has your lot seen the news? Picked up a newspaper?" Jaqen asked the redhead; casually draping the towel over his shoulder.

"Yes. Is this about the Joffrey Baratheon thing. How Cersei's dissapeared off the face of the earth?" Anguy asked.

"No. This is about Gendry. He's been in an accident. He's in the hospital."

"Oh. Yes. I read it was serious. He's in critical condition."

Jaqen nodded. "Yes. I want to know how serious his state is. Is he closer to death, or will he be released from the hospital soon. Do I send get well soon flowers, or do I wait for the funeral? I want you there. I want you to stay there, as close to him as you can be until he either dies, or he fully recovers. Is that clear?"

_What!_

Anguy's face twisted in shock. "I..."

"Drive yourself to my private pad. They'll fly you straight to Sheffield. I'll have a car waiting for you there that will drive you to a hotel. You'll have the best accommodations. Any expenses are under my credit for as long as you need to stay. Just keep me updated 24/7. He moves a finger... his vitals change. Anything. You let me know. This is my private line." he said, leaning over his desk to write down a number. He ripped the note off the notepad and handed it to Anguy."Oh, and Anguy... try to be as invisible as you can."

Anguy stared stupidly at the note in his hands.

_Why me?! Why does it have to be me. Is this punishment for crossing the line?_

"That'll be all, Anguy. You can let yourself out. And about Arya... you're a mutual friend. That's all she'll need to know. Tell the others."

With that, the german walked out of the office, leaving Anguy even more furious than before. Furious at the situation. At the helplessness of it. At his obligation to obey. At how emotionally involved he was becoming, and how much he was allowing Arya's situation to bother him.

He balled up the note in his fist, but pushed it into his coat pocket, and pulling out his mobile. Scrolling down to Thomas' name, pressing 'call' with his thumb.

Thankfully, he didn't see either Jaqen or Arya on his way out of the house, and before he reached his car, Tom had already answered.

"Si?"

"Tom. I'm going to Sheffield. Jaqen needs me to be there and update him on Gendry. Can you crack into their hospital's system. The media is salivating over all things Baratheon and Stark. There will be hightened security at the hospital, maybe even a visitor's list. Find a way of getting me on it, if it exist, or even getting me into the nursing unit on his floor. I need to have access to him."

"On it." Tom said.

Anguy ended the call and yanked his car door open, jumping in.

As he switched the car on, he looked up at the second floor of the house, at one of the windows. Arya was standing there. Staring at him. He felt an impulse to wave. Smile. Do something, but opted to simply drve out and up the driveway to the main road, without a second glance back at the house. Or the window. Or Arya.

Poor kid.

He feared that Jaqen sending him to keep an eye on Gendry had more to do with Arya then with his business with Tywin and the rest of the Lannisters.

He feared that Jaqen might ask him to do something to Gendry once he found a way to gain access to the guy.

But he feared most, the fact that he would have no choice, but to do as he was told, and that he wouldn't have some fucking voodoo, mind fuck to help him forget.

xxxxxxxxxx

**AN**

**So there is a time jump in this chapter. Marked, again, by the bold "xxxxxxxxxx"**

**Dany and Jorah are speaking the morning after Sansa kills Joffrey and Gendry crashes.**

**Then Arya's pov is a few days after her memory wipe, which happened the day Gendry crashed, only earlier in the day.**

**So this an Arya pov, finally!**

**I hope it all makes sense to you all where it doesn't make sense to her :)**

**We found out a bit about Sansa and Robb through Dany, who by the way is all suspicious and shit, and I just had to have that because people are suspicious and shit, and this is a very curious situation. **

**Anguy POV! ( i love him) and I love that he hates what is happening to Arya.**

**There will be more of him and some Brienne and Gendry and more Arya in the next POV. I think Sandor too, i'm not to sure, i need to check my chart. **

**Yes, i have a chart, to keep the story timeline realistic and up to date.**

**Again, thank you all for your wonderful reviews, and thank you blackedeyedbandit and noodlesplease, for that wonderful fan art. **

**i'll put the links up for those on my profile! check them out!**

**i love you all, and let me know what you think about this chapter!**


	30. Chapter 30

Jorah expected his men to return from Sheffield with Brienne Tarth. Instead they came in with a wet and shattered surveillance kit.

"Where is the girl?" Jorah gritted his teeth at his men.

"She wouldn't leave the hospital." one of them informed him.

"What!?" _Unbelievable! Absolutely ridiculous._

"Her friend. The boy that crashed. She won't leave his side until she knows he's stable. She said she'll drive herself here and answer any questions you might have. She does, however send this."

Dany was beside him now, having joined them as soon as his men walked out of the lifts. Perhaps taking a break from the dead Baratheon boy's case. "What is that?" she asked, taking the dirty wiring in one hand and the thin laptop on the other.

"A survei..."

"I know _what_ it is. But what's it to us?" her green eyes had snapped to Jorah then. "Is _this_ it?" she asked, opening the laptop to reveal the broken screen and keyboard. "Cersei's so called confession? This is broken. It's worth less."

"Perhaps your team can work on it," Jorah suggested, placing a hand on her shoulder. Dany nodded, handing it back to Jorah's man. "Take it to Paul. See what he can do." The man nodded.

After working on it for several days however, Dany's team hadn't been able to do anything. The "so called confession", as she liked to call it, had been lost.

Brienne had been informed about the loss of her evidence, and Dany had spoken to Robb Stark about both Brienne and the lost evidence against Cersei.

Dany still seemed sceptical about the contents of the recording, and whether or not the contents even existed.

Jorah hadn't had the chance to meet Brienne in person, what with meeting up with Margaery whenever she obtained any new information on Jaqen or Osha and with the rest of his time split between the Joffrey Baratheon case and the Stark case, which had meshed into one huge case and now included an illegitimate son, the resurface of an officer from Stark's unit and the disappearance of the Lannister twins, so he had no way of knowing for a fact that what Brienne claimed about the recording was true. He needed to meet with her face to face to be able to read her. He planned to meet with her as soon as he could.

It was a difficult case from the start. Too many scattered kids. Too many loose ends. He had been very lucky though, that Jaqen was involved in it, because now he could freely and openly proceed with the investigations on him without the fear of his father finding out.

That was also another thing that had kept him occupied. His father.

He had been waiting for the ax to fall for days now. He knew his father. He was probably fuming at the way the case was being handled and Jorah was just waiting for the moment he would let it be known. Every ring of the phone. Every knock at the door from his beady-eyed assistant Jack. He was just waiting for the shit to hit the fan.

And finally on Tuesday, December 16th -five days after they had acquired the recording from Brienne. . . five days after the crash on Kirk Edge and the murder of Joffrey Baratheon- at around midday, while in the middle of a conversation with Dany, his father finally stormed into his office, unfastening the button on his suit jacket.

"It's been over two weeks, and the _bloody_ media _leeches_ know more than you! People are dropping dead around us like those bloody fish that were found floating dead in the Weaver in Cheshire. It took you almost a week to find the bug pinned on the Cutler's Hall surveillance videos, for what? Only to recover two blurry frames! You have new evidence everyday, and instead of results, I get news of yet another death. And another. Your team is worthless! "

"That is _my_ team you're talking about," Dany stood tall before Commissioner Jeor Mormont, shooting fierce, burning daggers out of her eyes and making the hairs stand on Jorah's neck. "And they deserve a little respect, Sir."

"_I'm_ sorry, Miss?"

"Inspector Targaryen," Dany told him fiercely, her brows set in a proud frown.

"_Inspector_ Targaryen, eh. Your forensics team...they're under my command now. You're both off the case."

_No... No... not again! _

Jorah was about to protest, hating that no matter who he was, and what name he'd made for himself, to Jeor he would always be just a son, and anything coming out of his mouth would be nothing more than a whine.

Dany beat him to it though, and spoke out before Jorah could.

"Jorah**,"** she spoke out calmly, her voice ringing like steel her eyes never leaving Jeor's. "Could you excuse us? I need to have a word with Commissioner Mormont."

"There's nothing more in need of discussion**,"** his father begun to say, but Dany's eyes narrowed at him, and Jorah almost had to look away from the stare down.

"I think you'll find there is. Five minutes of your time, Sir."

To Jorah's surprise, his father nodded at Dany, dismissing him with a glance.

It indeed took Dany only five minutes to say what she had to say, but waiting outside of the office, those five minutes ticked on like hours to Jorah, and when the door finally opened, he sprang from his seat.

"You're both back on the case**,"** was all his father said as he buttoned his suit jacket and made his way down the hallway.

Jorah's wide eyes followed the man down the aisle and into the lifts before turning to meet Dany's eyes. "What did you say to him?" he'd stuttered out.

"It doesn't matter**,"** she'd smiled softly at him.

"It does. Whatever you said, he's decided to leave the case to me."

"Actually**,"** Dany paused then, taking in a deep breath before speaking again, "It's my case now."

"What are you thinking about?" Dany called to him as they pulled two boxes out of his trunk and down the snowy parking lot, into the station.

It had been a day since his father and Dany had had their one and one, and Jorah still had no idea what had been discussed in that room.

"You." he let out before thinking as he held the door open for her to step inside. They were at the one of South Yorkshire Police stations in Sheffield.

Dany insisted they leave London and relocate to Sheffield.

"How are we suppose to solve anything if we're over 200 kilometres away?" she had argued, and made arrangements to transfer.

"What about me?" she asked, walking along the cubicles and into a long white corridor that lead to the large lobby with a plastic Christmas tree. This room would now serve as their headquarters until the Jaqen/Stark/Baratheon case was solved.

"About how you stood up to my father yesterday**,"** he finally confessed to her, setting the box down, "You could have lost your job."

"You're still thinking about that?" Dany shot him a small smile.

Jorah shrugged, turning for the double doors, headed out for more boxes. "I know you won't tell me what you told him**,"** he called to her over his shoulder. " I was simply thinking to myself that you're incredible."

He slipped out of the room before she could say anything in reply, and he was thankful for it, looking forward to the unbearably freezing air that would slap against his face as soon as he stepped out.

_What on earth are you doing to me, Daenerys Targaryen._

xxxxxxxxxxx

A nurse poked her head into the room, searching the room before her eyes landed on Brienne. "How's he doing?" she asked with a smile.

Brienne sat up on the chair, feeling a pain stab in her side at her sudden movement. She ignored it.

"Still sleeping a lot. But good. Asking a lot of questions." she answered thickly. The nurse nodded at her, glancing over at the sleeping Gendry on the hospital bed.

"Questions is good. It's very good. And he's sleeping a lot because of the pain medication we have him on. Is he holding down his food now?"

Brienne nodded, shifting her weight on the chair.

The nurse nodded again. "Call me if you need anything." she said, and with that, slipped her head out of the room.

I had been exactly a week since his accident and he still didn't remember a thing.

Psychogenic fugue.

That's what the doctor had called it the afternoon Gendry had woken up with no clue of who he was.

"You're Gendry. Gendry. Remember? You had an accident." Brienne had called over to him in an urgent tone, but the doctor had held a hand up to silence her, and had walked over to the bed.

"Do you know who she is?" the Doctor had asked Gendry, a finger pointed at Brienne.

Gendry had taken a long, careful look at her before shaking his head.

"No." he said softly.

It had been a knife to the chest. But she had instantly assigned herself the task of helping him remember.

"Are we dating?" the question came up when the doctors and nurses had left the room.

Brienne had smiled. "No." she had answered. "We're mates." she added. To which he had nodded.

When he would wake up, hungry, or thirsty, she would roll his food tray closer to the bed, help him sit up, fetch him water or Sprite.

She helped him shower twice, But on the third morning, he shook his head when she began to untie the hospital gown.

"I think I can do it now.**"**

He was gaining strength quickly. Remembering conversations, and names of people she would tell him about.

"I bailed Sandor out. I used up everything on my savings account. He can't leave the city, which he's furious about because he wants to find Rickon and Arya,**"** she had told him earlier that week, which had turned into a string of questions.

"Who is Sandor? Rickon? Arya?"

That was the day Brienne told him everything, despite the doctor's orders to take it easy.

It had been like playing telephone. Few bits of the story were hers. The rest were, "You said... I saw on the television that... Sandor said..." so that it became a very choppy version of the events. But Gendry was taking everything in with deep concentration.

In the days that followed, he would ask about any updates on Arya Stark, and Rickon Stark. Brienne could tell he still didn't remember a thing. He was just trying to keep a tight hold on the new information he was taking in.

Everytime she mentioned Arya's name, she studied his face intently, hoping it would be the key to his memory recovery. She looked for signs of a brow twitch. A hitch in his breathing. A dry swallow. A lick of the lips. A deep blink. A shift in weight. Anything.

It had been a week since the accident, and she still hadn't seen any of those reactions.

There was a knock on the door and the red-haired orderly walked in with a small smile on his face.

"Everything ok?" he asked. "How are you two doing today?"

His name was Arnold and he had been checking in on Gendry since a few days after the accident.

"We were friends. From the University,**"** he had told the overly-cautious Brienne the first day he had poked his head into the room, "My name is Arnold,**"** he had introduced himself and Brienne had shook the hand that he had held out for her. He smelled like strawberries.

"Arnold,**"** she had repeated his name. "Gendry never mentioned you."

"He mentioned you though. Brienne, right?" he had replied smoothly, turning away from her to face the sleeping Gendry in the hospital bed."He really cared for you,**"** the guy had whispered, taking a step towards the bed. Brienne's hand had flinched; about to reach for her gun. But then she remembered where she was. And that she didn't have her gun.

She felt overprotective of Gendry, Especially with his memory loss.

"What do the doctors say? I work here, but they're being very closed up about both Gendry and Robert Baratheon's files."

By then, news of Robert Baratheon being in the same hospital was no news at all. The half drugged man had shown up in Gendry's hospital room the morning after the crash in nothing but the thin hospital gown**,** looking ghastly and dragging behind him the IV stand.

_Brienne had been questioned by doctors and again questioned by officers all night, and with Gendry out of surgery, she was now, nodding off on a chair far in one corner of the dimmed room, and didn't hear the large man creep into the room. _

_It wasn't until he sniffed loudly that Brienne's eyes flew open and she saw him there. Standing at the foot of the bed, tear-wet face. _

_"Damn you Ned__**,"**__ he whispered before letting his face drop, his hand covering his eyes._

_She had met him only once before. At the station. The same day he and Gendry had met for the first time too. Looking back on that day, it made sense now why Ned had looked almost nauseated at the sight of Gendry and Robert, inches away from each other's faces. _

_It was because all Ned saw was father and son, standing inches away from each other's faces for the first time. _

_"Sir?" Brienne whispered softly, rising from her chair and taking a cautious step towards him. _

_Robert pulled his hand away from his face, revealing puffy lids rimming bloodshot eyes. The man sniffed once. "He's my son__**,"**__ he managed to say in a thick, phlegmy tone__**,**__ "He's my fucking son, and Ned kept it from me." He closed his eyes and his whole body began to shake as large tears rolling down his face and getting lost somewhere in his beard. _

_Brienne wasn't sure what to do. So she just stood there. Watching as this man broke to pieces before her, and swallowing down the need to break down as well. _

_"And then he goes and dies on me. Well damn you Ned. Damn you for leaving me. Just like your sister. Damn you, you liar,__**"**__ the man clasped on to the edge of his bed with one hand and the IV stand pole with the other to keep himself from collapsing to the floor as his head fell and his body continued to shake violently with his heavy sobs. "Why did he have to die... why did he have to lie to me__?__ Why did he have to leave me..."_

_Several nurses had stormed in by then, all trying to haul the large man out. He fought them off though._

_"Bring me Ned!" he growled at one of the nurses. "He's not dead. He's alive. He can't be dead. Not him. Not Ned. Please tell me he'd not dead."_

_One of the female nurses pulled out a tranquilizer from her pocket while three of the men held him still. Another walked into the room with a wheel chair, and as soon as his knees gave, they sat him on the chair and wheeled him out of the room. Brienne ran to kneel besides Gendry's bed, clasping onto his limp unconscious hand and digging her face into the pillow besides his. She was crying now._

"He lost his memory. Temporarily. Hit his head during the crash." Brienne had answered Arnold warily.

"Will it ever come back to him?" the boy had asked, glancing over to Gendry.

"Not too sure." Brienne lied.

She didn't trust anyone. Not even the hospital staff.

During the week though, it had become easier to loosen up around Arnold. She still didn't trust him, but she didn't tense up as much around him now.

He visited Gendry and they would chat a while before the redhead returned to his rounds.

Gendry mentioned to Brienne that his gut told him he knew Arnold, so Brienne put aside the suspicions that he was some journalist in disguise or something along those lines. He was still dangerous though. Everyone was.

"Yes." she told Arnold, rising from her seat. "Everything is fine. We're doing alright. I actually have to meet someone right now. Mind keeping an eye on him?"

"No problem," Arnold told her.

"Thanks,**"** she said and pulled out her phone to text Sandor.

**Can we meet?**

Brienne pressed the send button, and crossed to the sleeping Gendry, combing back his coal black hair. _He looked so much like Renly_, she though.

"I'll be back." she told him, feeling her phone buzz in her hand. She held it up to read the message from Sandor.

**Where?**

xxxxxxxxxx

Sandor's first instinct was to leave. To just run away as soon as he'd dropped off Gendry and Brienne at the hospital. The boy was surely dead, and the equipment broken. They had nothing going for them. He had nothing going for him. No reason to stay.

He had stayed.

And after the police had arrived, and questioned him, and then Brienne, and then him again, he knew that it had been a mistake to stay, and an even bigger one to confess to everything.

With Gendry closer to death than life, and Cersei's recorded confession smashed, he felt like they needed all the help they could get, and so one truth spilled out after another. And he was talking about working for the Lannisters, and all they had him do. The plans he'd help them carry through; the lies he'd told for them... the whole truth about the shooting, and Ned's innocence. The will. Thetwins' affair. Everything. Even about the man he'd drunkenly killed for a boat when he'd first set out to find the Stark girl and her brother.

He was exhausted, though, and it was easier to just let go. It was too fucking exhausting... keeping his exterior hard.

His insides were soggy. All thanks to that stupid redhead bitch and her sad, pleading eyes.

He'd been taken in to the station then, and he'd cursed himself for being so foolish. He had failed Sansa. The least he could do now, was spill it all... and if clearing her father's name meant living the rest of his life in prison, then he'd live them out with a bit less anger.

He'd been questioned further at the station, then escorted to a cell for the night.

He had been so tired, that the cell bench had looked so welcoming, and laying on it, he fell instantly asleep, Sansa far in the back of his thoughts, slowly seeing him to sleep.

His nap had been brief though. Someone yelling his name had pulled him out of his restless sleep, and when the officer opened the cell and told him he was out on bail, pending trial, his thoughts went straight to Sansa.

"You shouldn't have, you stupid girl,**" **he had whispered as he followed the officer down a hallway.

But it wasn't Sansa who'd bailed him out. In place of a short redhead, was a tall, thickly built blonde with sagging eyes and a ruddy face.

He had masked his disappointment with a roll of his eyes.

"You?" his tone was mocking.

"I used up my entire savings account. You should be thanking me, you asshole."

But Sandor had been too angry at himself to remember the few manners he had, and so he'd simply taken his belongings from the officer behind the desk and gently shoved Brienne aside to get to the door.

He'd made a mental note to thank her when he saw her again, despite the shitty outcome of their circumstances. The large brace around his ankle a daily reminder of them.

However, when he saw her crossing the snowy field towards him, he decided against thanking her.

"So what did you want to meet here for?" he asked her as she sat on the park bench besides him. He tilted his head all the way back as he emptied the rest of the bourbon in his flask into his mouth.

He had been sitting on that bench at Endcliffe Park waiting for Brienne for over 20 minutes, growing restless and annoyed of the children playing in the snow on the field before him. He'd been too cold and too lazy to move, however, and over the course of the 20 minutes, trying to learn the children's names according to how they addressed themselves through shouts and hoots had proven to be a decent distraction from his reeling thoughts.

Brienne sighed besides him, turning his attention from the children to her face. In the light he saw how bright and blue her eyes were for the first time since he'd met her. The grey scarf she wore around her neck brought out a certain light in them, even when the rest of her face was tired and still sporting some bruises from the beating she'd taken up at the cabin.

"So nothing yet**," **Sandor said, capping his flask and slipping it in the inside pocket of his thick overcoat.

"He remembers what we've discussed. Names. Stories I tell him. The doctor said it's a good sign. That his mind is holding on to information. He seems to trust me well enough. The doctor said that even when he does not remember people, his gut will tell him how he felt about people before the accident."

"That, really does not help." Sandor shook his head, feeling as the alcohol was already beginning to take effect. They needed Gendry to remember. Him learning his fucking abc's didn't help.

Brienne let her face fall into her hands besides him. Sandor turned to her, really hoping she didn't start crying. If she did, he would probably stand up and leave.

"I just feel..." she spoke into her hands. "...as though the world had been spinning so fast around me since the moment Renly was killed... and when Gendry crashed...it stilled."

She _was_ crying. Sandor could hear it in her voice. But it didn't make him cringe as he had expected. He remembered the night of Gendry's crash. When he'd wept in the front seat of the van after realizing he'd failed Sansa.

"I'm so scared," Brienne continued besides him in a more composed tone. "That I won't be ready when it all starts moving again. Because it will. We're in the eye of the storm. But the storm is still going on around us."

Sandor agreed with her completely. This last week, since Gendry's crash, had been so . . . normal. He had just been waiting for the shit to hit the fan. Jaime to turn up. News of one of the Stark kids' deaths. Gendry to remember. Cersei to come out from hiding. Anything. Anything would be better and less maddening than the wait.

"Has she tried calling you?" Brienne asked after several minutes of silence. He didn't have to ask who she meant.

"No. I haven't turned my old phone on. No one has this new number except you and the police."

"I'm sure she's been trying to get hold of you."

"I'm sure she hasn't**,"** Sandor snapped.

"Gendry told me about her... just a little bit. I..."

"Don't." Sandor huffed out.

The air was growing still and the temperature was beginning to drop quickly. Most of the children were gone, leaving behind half done snowmen and smeared snow angels.

"If I were her..." Brienne began, but Sandor twisted in his seat and grabbed a fist full of her scarf, bringing her close to his face.

"I said, Do Not!" he growled through his teeth before pushing her away from him. Brienne stood from her seat, and for a moment, Sandor was sure she would storm away in tears like a stupid little girl.

His face couldn't hide the surprise when instead, she grabbed his face between her gloved hands and came so close to his face, that he could see the very subtle freckles on her nose and smell the soap on her face, and the laundry detergent on her sleeves.

"Now you listen to me! You could have run. You could have left me with Gendry on the side of that road. But you didn't." he tried to pull his face free but her grip on it tightened. "You had so many chances to leave, and you didn't. You're a good person. She knows that. That is why she trusted you. It is why Gendry trusted you. Even _I_ trust you."

Sandor shoved her away from him, rising from the bench so that they came face to face. She was very tall. Nearly as tall as him. And he wanted to punch her. Her words had stung. A cruel, cold slap on the face. A jape.

"You see good where there is none,**"** he rasped out, sounding more vulnerable than he wished. He sniffed sharply, letting the cold air freeze his lungs. "Like that Lannister. You saw good in him. Good where there was none."

"The world is not black and white, Sandor. It's not that easy."

"It is." he spoke out softly.

He should leave. He should walk away. She was pissing him off, and it was freezing outside and he didn't fucking need this. Not from her, or anyone. So why wasn't he walking away? Why was he standing here? Why was there a knot in his throat?

"You're a good man. Jaime is a good man." Brienne cried out, shifting her weight from one leg to the other, looking around the park. Sandor let out an acidic laughter that rose between them in thick clouds before disappearing. "He is!" Brienne yelled, and he could tell he'd finally struck a chord.

A million insults came to mind at that moment, each one crueller than the last. It seemed the bitch had fallen for the Lannister. She was a bigger idiot than he'd given her credit for. He uttered none of them, though.

_Soggy. Rotten inside. Fuck you, little bird. Fuck you!_

"How did you..." Brienne began hesitantly, crossing over to the bench to sit again. "Your burns. How did that happen?**"**

Sandor closed his eyes, exhaling long and hard. When he finally opened them, he was faced with two choices. Sock her face and walk away. Or cross to the bench and sit. In his head, hitting her felt good. It released the rage that soured his mouth and stomach. But he still did the latter.

"My brother,**"** he said once he'd sat himself besides her, hearing the hate in the two words he'd just spoken out.

He didn't want to say anymore, and Brienne probably sensed it, for she didn't push for more, but merely stated. "And you hate him."

Sandor nodded.

"I..." she cleared her throat nervously. "I tortured him. I.. I really... I hurt him. I d-don't think I..." she paused, taking in a deep shuddery breath. "His back and chest are scarred for life. A memory of the hot poker I held to his flesh Over and over again for two days. I hated him." her voice broke on that last part, and she began to weep. "I hated him so much. They'd taken Renly from me. I was angry, and I wasn't thinking straight, and I burned his flesh and I beat at him, trying to get a confession from him. Information." she wiped her eyes with the pad of her gloved hands. "But when those men came to the cabin. And tied me up and let him go, giving him the keys to my car, he didn't leave. He came back. I really don't know why, but he did. And he killed the men, and instead of killing me too, me the person that had tortured him for days, he..."

"That's where your grey area falls into?" Sandor cut her off. "He saves your life, and spares it, and he's suddenly a fucking saint."

"No." Brienne shook her head. "You said it yourself, this is where the grey area exists. He has done evil, but also, he has done some good."

It was Sandor's turn to shake his head. "One good deed does not..."

"I remembered something. After he'd spared my life, I remembered the night Renly died. I couldn't see it before because I had been so upset. So blinded by grief, but when Cersei shot Ren and turned to me, Jaime quickly pushed her hand away so that the bullet missed my chest and hit my shoulder."

Sandor still didn't buy it. "It's still not it enough."

She chuckled mirthlessly then. "If you judge this severely, I can see why you hate yourself." Another slap across the face. "Sandor,**"** he turned at the sound of his name. Brienne eyes were heavy on him. "You should find her. I'm sure she's dying to see you."

And with that she stood, turning up the collar of her overcoat at the sudden icy breeze. "I'll see you." she told him with a nod, and made her way down the cement trail, towards the car park.

He grabbed two handfuls of his hair, tugging at them in frustration, before closing his eyes and clenching his teeth. One of his hands slipped into his pocket. Feeling for the plastic case.

"Brienne." he called, hesitantly rising to his feet and running his fingers along the edge of the flat case. The tall blonde turned to face him, and he crossed to her, pulling it out of his pocket.

He held up the jewelled CD case before her eyes, which snapped to his, wide and hopeful. _She really has extraordinary eyes._ "I paid a visit to Varys. He surprised me with this."

Brienne snatched it from his hand and fixed her gaze on it. "What is it?" she demanded, her eyes never leaving the orange CD case in her hands.

"He had his equipment networked to his home computer. He recovered the recording. All of it."

Brienne's brows furrowed and her eyes met his. She looked pissed. "How long have you had this?!" she yelled, waving the case before his face. "How long?"

"A few days!" he barked back.

"Why?" she whispered out, sounding slightly disappointed. _Tell me I'm a good person now, stupid wench._

"Because I have no way of leaving. I'm stuck here." his eyes fell to his ankle, where the large brace was." when he looked up at her again, he could see, not pity in her face, but understanding.

"And because you didn't want to see _her_. Not when you had accomplished nothing." _Clever girl. _"Well..." Brienne said, tucking the case inside her coat pocket. "We have to take this to the police."

"We?" Sandor grimaced, hating the idea of setting foot inside the station again. He shook his head.

"Yes. We." she told him, surprising him by grabbing his hand and pulling him down the trail, towards her parked car. Again, he didn't pull away. He let her lead the way.

_Soggy. Fucking soggy. And drunk. _

_Bad combination._

xxxxxxxxxx

_Arya woke; her fingers still laced with Gendry's, her forehead resting softly against his so that their noses touched. Shock pulsed through her, and she almost flinched back. Almost. _

_Instead she closed her eyes, remembering how wretched Gendry had been the night before. He'd killed a man. His first kill. Even if he was a cop, he had mentioned on the train ride to Barcelona that he had never killed a man. _

_He had calmed a bit after minutes of just sitting on the toilet lid, his hands on her waist, her forehead on his, as it was just now. And after his shower, he had woken her as he had slipped carefully under the covers beside her. _

_Arya remembered sleepily reaching over to grab his hand and press a soft kiss on it. Something she would have never been able to do if she wasn't half asleep. _

_She remembered how her mother's kisses had always helped her feel better when she was younger though, and that he had not had a mother most of his life. _

_This was no scraped knee though, and he was not 5 years old. But she still did it because she wanted to. The tingling sensation that she'd felt on her lips as they'd brushed on his hand lingered until she fell asleep._

_Her lids opened when she heard the creak of the other bed and heard Sandor clear his throat. She laid completely still, just listening. Listening to the long silence that followed before the rustling of sheets let her know he was slipping out of bed. Listening to his footsteps as he threaded over to the restroom, closing the door behind him only halfway. The long trickle of his urine as it hit the toilet bowl. The swirl of water as he flushed the toilet, and the sound of his more awake walk back to his bed. _

_He didn't slip back under the covers. Instead, she heard him feel his way around the night table between their beds and pull the phone off __**i**__ts receiver, punching in a number. After a few seconds, he spoke into the phone. _

_"Where the fuck can someone get a decent cup of coffee around here?"_

_Arya heard someone answer him on the other end. _

_Sandor growled. "No. I'll come down." he said before slamming the phone on the receiver. _

_He cursed his way to his boots and coat and cursed his way out of the room when he'd dressed up for the cold._

_Arya sat up on the bed, her eyes already adjusted to the dark, as soon as the door closed behind Sandor. _

_Gendry groaned besides her, smacking his lips a few times, still asleep. _

_Arya reached over to brush a few strands of hair from his face. He needed a haircut. _

_Giving him a sideways glance she changed her mind. He didn't. She liked this scruffy look on him. _

_When she'd first seen him, he had short hair and a clean face. Since they'd been on the run he hadn't had time for either a haircut or a shave. She found she liked him either way. _

_Arya sighed, pulling her hand away from his face._

_She liked him. _

_She cared for him. _

_Why was that so hard to admit and say, even to herself__?_

Because if you cared for him, you wouldn't put him in so much danger.

_Arya knew this was true. She didn't want to admit it, because doing so meant she had no choice but to leave him. Leave him to keep him safe._

_"I'm leaving you, Gendry__,"__ she spoke out into the dark, keeping her eyes away from his sleeping face. "Because I care too much."_

_She let out a shuddery breath. She had to look. Just once. If this was good bye, she had to look. Her gaze turned slowly, falling on his face. "You hear that, stupid? I care. I care... alright? That's why I am leaving. Because you have your own shit to figure out. You have your own demons to face, and helping me is keeping you from that. It's putting you in danger. I can't ... I just can't deal with losing someone else. I won't. I won't lose you. Not you too... So__I'll leave you. Let's each face our demons. Alone. Because right now they are taking us in different directions." she huffed out a small sob. "But I really hope I'll see you again, you stupid, stubborn idiot." she let out a small laugh, feeling a tear trickle down her cheek. "I really do. And if we meet again, you can tell me all about it. And I'll do the same." _

_She leaned into him, hesitantly, stopping inches away from his face. She should have kissed him back the night before. She shouldn't have reacted like such a moron._

_She pressed her closed lips on his, taking in a deep breath of his scent. It felt so good. How can such a simple thing feel this good? When she pulled away, she brushed her fingers over his hair one last time. Still sleeping. Good._

_As quiet as a cat, she slipped out of bed, and tip toed around the room, tucking her boots under one arm, draping her jeans, shirt, jacket and scarf set over her shoulder and looking through Yoren's bag for her documents, enough cash to get her back to Jaqen and the car keys. _

_She left the room without a last look. As soon as the door closed behind her, she ran down the corridor, and out into the cold. Her grip tightened around all the crap in her hands and she made her way down the metal steps and across the frozen parking lot to their rental car. It was just as cold inside, but she quickly turned the ignition on and blasted the heater on high. She dumped all her belongings on the back seat, and changed the car from Park to Drive, stepping on the gas and speeding out of the parking lot. _

Her lids opened. She was in her bedroom in Jaqen's house. She closed her eyes in anger. That was the second dream she'd had. Only they weren't dreams. They were memories. In the first she had been in the basement of Cutler's Hall, her father dying in her arms all over again.

She decided she had to tell Jaqen.

When she'd showered and come downstairs, she saw the suitcases by the front door.

This was the second time they'd moved in a week. The first one just two days ago. Before the memories started coming.

That first time, Jaqen had briefly explained that they never stayed in one place for too long.

"You'll get used to it. You were used to it before." he had said as they'd hauled their small suitcases into the back of his car.

Arya had wanted to ask why. She always wanted to question things further. It was like a small pebble in her shoe. Rolling around in there every time a topic was stirred. Never hurting her; but still bugging.

She followed Jaqen's voice to his office, door almost fully closed. She pushed her way in and found him talking on the phone in Spanish, his back to her.

He sounded upset, and he was talking about a man. And getting better information.

When he hung up, he cursed in German and turned, looking startled at the sight of her.

"We're moving," he told her in a slightly irritated tone. "Pack lightly, please. You can shop for any new things where we're going."

"Where _are_ we going?"

"Just pack, Cat. We can discuss that on our way there." he told her, walking around her and out of the office. Arya followed him, stopping right outside the door.

"I've been having dreams." she called after him.

Jaqen stopped in his tracks and turned to her. "Nightmares?"

"Memories. I remember my father dying in my arms. And the last time I saw Gendry."

"You remember?" Jaqen asked in a careful tone, taking a step towards her. "Everything?"

"I know if I tug at one memory, I'll unearth the rest." she answered him. "I remember the process. I know that this is something I asked of you. The memory wipe."

"Oh." Jaqen looked unsure of what to do or say. "Are you... confused? Upset?"

"I want you to fix it. Can you?"

Jaqen shook his head. "If you remember, you must have never let it go. You don't want to forget."

"I do." she lied.

She knew she really didn't. She knew she must though. To become who she must. To be able to get revenge.

"Only you can fix it."

"How? Can we try again?"

Jaqen rubbed his shoulder thoughtfully. "I don't know. I don't know if I should. What it could do. It's all psychological. The brain is a strong, mysterious part of us, and I don't know what yours would be capable of if we tried again."

Arya let out a shuddery breath. She was standing on a high wire. Balancing. Fearing the fall.

She was not sure if the fall, in this case, was her remembering, or her trying again and failing. Her mind was too stuffed with two realities to decide.

"Do it. I'll be careful. I'll let go this time."

"Alright. We can do it as soon as you're packed." He told her.

xxxxxxxxxx

"It's been the same nightmare over and over again." Sansa spoke into the phone, rubbing a few fingers against her temples.

_"Which is?"_ Bran asked on the other end of the line.

"I'm running. Running away from Joffrey. And then I kill him. Over and over again."

_"Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream."_ Bran quoted in a sinister tone.

Sansa scoffed. "You're not helping**,** you idiot."

_"Sorry."_

"What is that?"

_"Edgar Allan Poe."_

"Hmmm."

_"I never told you this, but I had a dream about father days before he was killed."_

Sansa's inside turned to ice. "What kind of dream?"

_"A lion tore his head off."_

She pressed her hand against her mouth to keep herself from whimpering.

_"I only told Arya. She said she'd had a dream about father too."_

"Why didn't you say something?!" Sansa yelled into the phone. Robb looked over to her from across the table.

_"Would it have made a difference?"_ Bran demanded.

"I don't know**,"** she replied in a lower voice. She thought back to who she was before her parents died and her siblings went missing. Not a month had passed and she felt as though she'd had ages to become the person she was today. There was no way anything Bran and Arya said would have made a difference in what happened that night, and the nights that followed. "I suppose not. No." she told him.

_"I don't know why Arya and I had that dream. Dreams are . . . I don't know what they are." _he sighed_. _" I do know that Joffrey is dead, and he won't come after you anymore. So stop thinking about it."

Sansa nodded, even though he couldn't see her. Across the table, Robb waved a hand at her, signalling toher to hand over the phone.

"Bran. Robb wants to talk to you. I love you. Talk to you tomorrow."

_"I love you too. Stop thinking so much. You'll drive yourself insane."_

"Sure**,"** Sansa said, and slid the phone over the table. Robb caught it with one hand and stood from his chair, turning for the door. "Let me speak to Alicia, Bran**,"** he said, reaching for his jacket, shrugging into it. "Alicia." he said suddenly, and began talking in Spanish, opening the door and slamming it behind him.

Sansa sat still, lost in her thoughts for a few minutes after Robb had walked out of the hotel room before she stood and cleared their nearly full dishes.

They weren't eating well. Either of them. Robb was beginning to look emaciated. Perhaps she was too, only she hadn't noticed it on herself. She didn't like looking at herself in the mirror these days. She saw too much of her mother in her. Her thoughts trailed to Arya.

Robb and her had met with Brienne Tarth, one of Ned's officers, in London a few days after Joffrey's death. She was coincidentally also a friend of Gendry Waters, the policeman Arya had befriended.

Maybe _befriended_ was the wrong word, Sansa though, recalling the odd circumstances the two had met in and had continued to meet from then on.

Brienne told them about Arya and Gendry, travelling to Spain; to their grandfather's home. Why Arya didn't just think of staying with Sansa at the Baratheon manor had upset her for several days after their father's death. But now she knew Arya had been the smarter of the two, running as far away as she could from the Lannisters.

When Brienne mentioned that according to Gendry, Arya had witnessed Ned's death, Sansa broke in tears.

"So, Rickon wasn't with them?" Robb had asked Brienne hopelessly. The tall girl merely shook her head.

"There's still Mordane." Sansa had offered.

The woman had lived with and looked after them ever since Robb had been born. She loved them like a mother. Sansa was certain that if Rickon had made it out of the Hall it was with the help of the woman in the footage.

"No." Robb had let out bitterly. "Inspector Dany said the woman is linked to a terrorist Scotland Yard has been after for years."

Sansa's hopes has wilted. No one had cared to mention that to her before.

"Jaqen." Brienne had said to Robb, and then had gone on to mention how Arya and Gendry had come across the man in Spain and how he had become oddly interested in Arya. And then she'd gone on about Sandor and how he'd been with Gendry and Arya on their way back from Spain. Sansa never got the chance to ask her about Sandor though, because she and Robb had been called in by an Inspector.

Since then Sansa's thoughts had been haunted by him as well. Something inside her ached to know where he was. How he was. Was he alive? She never got up the courage to ask, or ask Robb to ask. The words always stuck to her tongue right before she uttered them. She would still say a little prayer from him after she's said one for her brother and sister, and for Mordane, and Robert and his children.

Poor Robert. He was hit with a heavy wave of news upon waking from his coma.

The death of his son, the news of his parentage to another son, and the news of Ned Stark's death. And to top it off, Cersei had disappeared.

Sansa had been there when the Inspector had spoken to the man, and she had been there to console him.

He had told her, once they were both alone, that he knew Ned was innocent.

Sansa had been happy to hear it, but then she hadn't expected anything less from Robert. He may not be the perfect man, but he loved Ned.

Her thoughts were disturbed when Robb stormed into the room, slamming the door after himself in anger.

"What?" Sansa rose from the sofa and crossed to him.

"Airlines, trains, roads, are all being closed. There's nothing we can do about Bran until the storm dies down."

"We can't leave him in Spain. He needs us!" Sansa cried, following Robb into one of the bedrooms of their suite.

"He's better off there. He's safe. Alicia is taking good care of him and grandfather."

"That doesn't mean Bran belongs there. He belongs with us. We all belong together. Arya can be safe. So can Rickon, that does not mean we should stop looking for them. You just don't want him weighing you down, and being a bother here." Sansa accused him.

"You are too young to understand. This isn't over yet. He's safer if no one knows where he is. Perhaps Rickon and Arya are too."

Sansa slapped Robb then, feeling the heated throb of blood on the palm she'd stuck him with. She immediately regretted it. "I'm sorry." she whispered.

Robb shook his head. "No. I am. I'm being foolish. Selfish. I'm still not over my grief."

"None of us are. I'm afraid we'll never truly be. But that is why we need to be together. To find strength in each other."

Robb nodded, pressing a quick kiss on her forehead before running out of the room.

"What are you doing?" she asked when she'd walked into the small sitting room and found him on the phone.

"Calling Petyr."

"Why?" she snapped, remembering what the man had done.

"Because he will find a way for us to get Bran back."

Sansa crossed her arms over her chest. "So you trust him now?"

"No." Robb said in a tone that reminded her of father. "I'm going to use him."

xxxxxxxxxx

_"A sacrifice I am willing to make. Call it collateral damage."_

Those words had cut him deeper than any sword ever could. Not one of the rotting burns decorating his back and chest amounted to one iota of the pain that Cersei's words had created.

He could feel the wench's eyes heavy on him. Burning a hole. When he lifted his eyes to meet hers, he could see, even in the dimly lit van, that they were glassy. She pities me. He had never wanted to strike a woman as much as he wanted to strike her at the moment. Not even when she had let the bright orange scorching poker eat at his flesh little by little.

He didn't need her pity.

He would have lunged himself at her if gunshots hadn't turned all of their attentions to the screen. Before he knew it, both Brienne and Sandor had stormed out of the van, leaving the door open behind them. At first he cursed them for it. They were letting the cold in. But then his fevered mind caught up and his eyebrows shot up on his forehead.

The rest was a painful blur of cold, dark, choleric stumbles out of the van, through slapping branches and away from both the road and Brienne screams. She was calling out to Gendry, but Jaime didn't stop to figure out why.

He had been lucky to find another, smaller road. And even luckier that a darling 80 something year old woman was driving down it.

"Oh heavens above! Get in young man!" she called to him from behind a partially opened window.

He had walked around the truck and to the passenger seat on limp legs and stumbled inside, fighting to grip the door handle with the numb fingers of his tied hands. After a few tries, he finally grabbed it, pulling the door closed.

The old woman gasped when she caught sight of him. _I must look worse than I feel._

"What happened to you?"

"I'm fine." Jaime had gasped out in pain as he fell back on the seat, his jacket brushing against his back.

"I'm taking you to the hospital." the woman announced, stepping on the gas.

"Please don't. I'll be fine. I just need to rest a bit. Warm up." he had already begun to lose himself. "Where do you live, princess?"

"Just up the road. Not far."

"Perfect. Are you single? You wouldn't mind taking in a lonely bachelor into your cosy home for a cup of tea, would you?"

"I have my late husband's hunting rifle. I think I can handle you."

Jaime had laughed, then. Letting his eyes close.

Her home had really been just up the road. She'd helped him up the porch steps as well as she could in her years.

"You can wash in there." she had pointed towards a door down a short hallway. After washing up a bit and catching sight of his sickly self in the small bathroom mirror, he had stepped out and taken the offered cup of tea gratefully.

"I insist you go to the hospital. You look worse than my poor Alfred did at his funeral."

"No. No hospital. However I'll abuse your hospitality further by asking for a shower and anything you can spare for my wounds."

"I have a first aid case." she had chimed with a sweet smile.

He had showered sitting down on the white plastic shower chair, letting the hot, stinging water wash away the dirt, and blood and pus that had collected over his wounds. He had drifted in and out of sleep a few times before finally rising from the chair and turning the shower off. The bathroom spun around him as he'd stepped out, but after resting a few minutes on the bathroom floor wrapped in nothing but a small towel, he was able to rise and change into the oversized clothing the old lady had fetched for him from her husband's chest.

In the kitchen, he had leaned over a hot bowl of soup, spooning it into his mouth ravenously as she rubbed ointment on his burns.

"What's your name, beautiful?" Jaime had asked her instead of answering her questions about who had done such a thing to him.

"Ruth." she had offered as she adjusted the sliding glasses higher on her nose.

"Well, Ruth. My name is Jaime Lannister. Have you ever heard of me? My sister Cersei is married to Chairman Baratheon."

Her hands had gone still, and that was enough answer for Jaime. "I'm hiding. I've done some terrible things. Things I'm not proud of. You'll probably hear news about me soon on the television. All true things, I'm afraid . . . That's why I can't go to the hospital. And that's why as soon as you finish cleaning me up, I'll be on my way. I don't want you to get in any trouble for helping me, so let's keep this a secret. For your sake, and for mine. Mostly for mine."

"After I'm done with your wound you are marching over to the bed and getting a good night's rest. Tomorrow you can be on your way."

"I shouldn't." Jaime had told her courteously, even when he desperately wanted and needed the rest.

"I won't take no for an answer. You are staying. You can take the room across mine. And don't dare try any silly business with me. I know I'm irresistible, but I'm warning you, I'll have Alfred's rifle."

Dawn came a few hours after that, but Jaime had still rested well enough. Ruth had prepared him breakfast and driven him all the way to the city, offering him a small roll of bills.

"No." Jaime had snapped, pushing her hand away.

"Take it, son. And good luck. My prayed will be with you."

She had kissed his forehead andsmacked him on the patted him on the shoulder cheekily.

Jaime smiled at the memory of Ruth. He still didn't understand why she'd done what she'd done. Why she'd helped him, even when she knew who he on his side on the dusty, cold floor of the basement he had broken into a week ago. The space upstairs used to be a Grocer's market, but it was now for lease.

Jaime had found a few cans of food that had been left behind and for the first few days had lived off of that. But they were all gone now.

_"Collateral damage." _

Cersei's words had haunted him this past week, slowly lulling him in an angry, aggressive numbness. He welcomed it.

A part of him insisted it was what she had to do. If he had been there, he would have gladly given his life to help her escape. He would gladly become collateral damage.

It had been the tone in which she had uttered the words that had stabbed him cold in the heart.

_It was all an act,_ he insisted to himself. _All an act._

_Perhaps it was, _replied the more cynical part of him, and that was enough to go on. To keep himself from giving up.

After a week though, he could feel himself drifting closer to the edge, peering over at the welcoming darkness that was death. He could feel the poison in his blood. He could smell the rancid stench of his burns.

"This is how I go, then,**"** he whispered to himself with a smile, "This is how I'll die."

Something before him shifted and he opened his eyes, watching as a rat crawled across the dusty floor, towards him.

"Hello there, you." Jaime called to it, lifting a heavy hand to beckon the animal towards him. "I'm afraid I'm all out of food. But come keep me company."

The rat froze, standing on it's hind legs and sniffing the air before falling on all four again and scurrying away from Jaime.

"Of course." Jaime let out bitterly. "Not even _you_ want to be near the likes of me."

He rolled on his back with a pained hiss, starting up at the cobwebby ceiling panels.

"I'm not all that bad you know. Things just so very easily got out of hand and I became this man who would do anything for his sister. Even kill. But i was not always this way. I never even thought of her that way until the very first time we kissed. I was the night before I left for school. I was 18. She had been crying. I had too, but I didn't let on. She was as strong then as she is now, and so seeing her cry meant she was hurting too much to even care about putting up a front. I have always loved her. She was the only person I truly cared about. The only one I could talk to and be myself with. She made me whole."

The cobwebs on the ceiling danced lightly over him, like ghosts. A draft was coming in from somewhere in the large room. Perhaps that's what made it so damn cold.

"The more people we love, the weaker we become, she used to say. Yet I remember that on that night, she hugged me close and whispered, I love you. I love you. I love you."

Jaime closed his eyes, trying to remember Cersei's face. A face he'd seen all his life. The face of his twin. A face he once had memorised... why was it so hard to remember it!

"When she'd pulled back from the embrace, she leaned in to gently press a soft kiss on my lips. Then another. And another. Each becoming more urgent than the last until I pushed her away gently."

The rat's small nails could be heard scratching at something from somewhere in the room.

"You should be able to relate." Jaime called out to the rat. "I bet you've fucked your mother. And your sisters and your daughters. That's all you animals do. Fuck and eat."

The scratching stopped.

"Nothing more happened that night, and we didn't discuss it the morning after, or in any of the letters we sent to each other. I remember thinking it would have been easy to forget, until one day, when instead of a letter from her, I received a wedding invitation." he paused, feeling as his heart beat faster at the memory. "She was getting married." he continued in a lower voice. "And I knew then, that I _loved_ her. "

_"Who's down there?" _Jaime heard someone call from the top of the stairs. He didn't even have time to prop himself up on an elbow before the heavy footsteps began making their way down the metal stairs. A large man and a couple in their mid thirties right behind him, came down the stairs, their jaws dropped at the sight of him.

"Oh my God," the woman said to the man whose arm hers was laced with.

"Who the hell are you?" the large man demanded from Jaime as his booted foot kicked Jaime's.

Jaime closed his eyes, falling carefully back on his back. "Jaime Lannister."

xxxxxxxxxx

Brienne was buzzing with excitement for the first time since before they'd killed Ren.

The CD Sandor had given her at the park had been the answer to her prayers. She'd played it on the ride here, to the station, to make sure not a single detail was missing. It was all there though. Every bit.

She turned to Sandor to give him a reassuring smile, but he wasn't looking at her. He was nervous.

So was she. But more anxious than nervous.

An officer from her station walked by them and Brienne followed him with her gaze. That was the third one she'd seen this week from her station. They'd probably transferred here after the station was closed down for investigation.

"How much longer do we have to wait?" Sandor growled to her.

"I don't know." Brienne said, growing irritated of him. He was making her restless.

"Excuse me." A woman called to them in a thick Northern accent, and both Brienne and Sandor turned to face her. She was a small, dark haired woman holding a small red-headed boy by the hand. Sandor sprung to his feet at the sight of her.

"You." he whispered, walking up to them, but to Brienne's surprise, he knelt before the boy and grabbed him by the shoulders. "It's you." he said to the small boy, who cringed away from Sandor. Brienne stood, quickly making her way to Sandor, whose face was white as sheet. As though he'd seen a ghost.

"Sandor. Let him go, you're scaring him." Brienne shook his shoulder, and Sandor did let the boy go.

"You know him?" the dark haired woman asked Sandor.

"Who is this?" Brienne asked the burned man.

"Rickon." the little boy spoke up at her from behind the dark haired woman's leg. "My name is Rickon Stark.

"Rickon?" Brienne repeated the name in a low voice.

"Rickon!?" came a voice from the somewhere in the large room. They all turned just as Sansa and Robb had walked into the station. Sansa clapped her hands over her mouth and ran her way along the cubicles towards Rickon, who was running towards her. Their bodies collides in the middle in a desperate embrace and she lifted him off the floor, weeping into his hair. Robb joined them shortly, wrapping his arms around his younger brother and sister.

"Oh my God." Brienne felt like crying, and although a few tears escaped, she kept herself together. She had texted Robb about the CD and that she was on her way to the station to present it as evidence, but she had no idea he would show up, and with Sansa no less.

"What is going on?" an officer asked as he stepped besides her, pointing to the three embracing Starks.

"I brought you the Stark boy," the dark haired woman that had, just moments ago held Rickon Stark by the hand, spoke before Brienne could. "And I'm here to turn myself in."

The officer shook his head at her, and beckoned her to follow him into one of the glass offices along the opposite wall.

"What are _they_ doing here?" Sandor's low, bassy growl boomed behind her. "I'm leaving." he told her, turning for an exit opposite the Starks.

Before Brienne could snatch his arm to make him stay, a soft, weepy voice called his name. He froze.

"Sandor?" the voice called again. It was Sansa Stark.

Sandor and Brienne both turned slowly as the redhead made her way from her brothers to them. Brienne stepped aside so that Sansa could see Sandor better. As soon as the redhead saw his face, she smiled, and a few tears rolled down her cheeks. "It _is_ you." she chimed out, stopping right in front of Sandor. This was the first time Brienne had seen the large man shaking like a gutless pup, and when Sansa extended a hand and placed it softly on Sandor's burned cheek, she saw, clear as day, his terrified shudder. Part of him looked ready to snarl at the hand, and the other looked as though he would shatter.

"Thank you." Sansa whispered, and Sandor closed his eyes, as if he'd been slapped. He shook his head stiffly.

"It wasn't me, little bird. It wasn't me who found him."

_Little bird?_ Suddenly Brienne felt uncomfortable gaping at the scene before her, finding it too intimate to stare at. She was about to look away, but then she heard her name.

"Brienne told us about how you helped Arya." the redhead told him, almost in tears, and then the most shocking thing happened. Sansa went on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss on the burned side of his chin. The only part of him she could reach, even as she tiptoed closer to his face. "Thank you." she repeated, and let her hand linger a few moments longer, looking up into Sandor's eyes before turning and making her way back to her brothers again.

"Brienne." a voice made her face snap away from Sandor and to an officer. "The Chief Inspector will see you now." he toldd herr, and she nodded, following the officer down a long corridor, still out of sorts of what she'd just witnessed.

The Stark boy was returned. That too, but the moment between Sansa and Sandor. That's what had really shocked her.

"Miss Tarth." A man with sleek, blonde hair greeted her as she took a seat in the lobby turned office. Behind him, a handsome brunette girl with shocking green eyes stood from her seat, walking up to shake hands with Brienne. "We have not been formally introduced. I am Chief Inspector Jorah Mormont. This is my good friend and colleague, Inspector Daenerys Targaryen. We hear you have some information for us. A CD."

"Yes." Brienne nodded at the pair, pulling the CD out of her coat pocket and handing it over to the girl. "It's Cersei Lannister."

"So it's true," the man said. Brienne nodded again, feeling herself take in a breath of relief. Her insides were buzzing with happiness. She couldn't wait to tell Gendry.

Suddenly, all three of them turned to the door when a small, olive-skinned man ran in.

"Yes, Jack?" Jorah asked him.

"It's Jaime Lannister Sir." the man coughed out breathlessly. "They've found him in the basement of an abandoned shoppe."

Brienne's blood turned to ice.

"Alive?" Daenerys asked the man.

"Yes."

And just like that. Brienne's buzz was gone.

xxxxxxxxxx

_He was inside a dim motel room._

_"We should make a run for it. As soon as the storm ebbs a bit." he told Arya Stark. She sighed, turning to face him. Her eyes only graced his face briefly. He felt himself tense. _

_"I can't." she said in a hesitant tone._

_He huffed out, rolling his eyes. "Can't or won't."_

_Arya closed her eyes, making his nerves twist inside him. _

_"Both." she let out weakly after a long, drawn out pause._

_He rubbed a hand over his, letting out an exasperated grunt. He could see the struggle clear on her face. It pissed him off she kept it inside of her instead of letting it out. It was obvious that whatever it was, was bothering her, so why keep it bottled in__?__ Why couldn't she trust him__?_

_"It's complicated," she began to say, "But..."_

_"Really Arya?" he snapped at her, losing it. "Cause I'm a smart guy, so why don't you explain it to me?" he yelled, surprising himself. She looked as surprised as he was. He huffed out, trying to calm himself. Her breaths began to grow laboured and he could feel his patience wearing out as she searched her head for the proper words. Anger laced inside of him. That after all of the shit they'd been through she was still at a loss for words with him._

_But then he realized he was more angry at himself for thinking everything they'd been through actually made a difference in their friendship, or whatever the fuck it was they had before this. When she opened her mouth to finally speak, he had already lost his patience and spoke before she could. He'd given her enough time. To make up a lie, or to figure out how and if to tell him and he didn't want to hear it anymore._

_"I didn't have to do this." he whispered. "I didn't ask for any of this. For you to turn up at my place!" he began to raise his voice with every word. "I didn't have to come with you, and help you, and risk my life for you." he was yelling now. "I had my own shit to deal with. I had my own life. But I did! I came. I'm here, and I've risked my life for you. I did. Alright. I did."_

_He saw as her shocked, glazed eyes narrowed in disgust." Why did you?! Huh?" she demanded as she walked up to him and shoved him back forcefully. "You didn't have to. I didn't need you." her voice broke, and tears began to well in her eyes. Gendry felt his throat dry, but he swallowed the lump, and kept himself from reaching out to her. "I could have done all of this on my own." she shoved him again, "I didn't ask you for your help! I didn't ask you to risk your life, so why did you? Tell me! Why did you!" Her hands slammed against his shoulders once more, but he made no move to push them away. He stood his ground. too afraid that if he made a move to stop her blows, he'd just end up trying to wrap his arms around her to crush the air out of her._

_"Tell me!" she yelled up at him furiously._

_He could feel tears in his eyes, but he didn't really care if they fell or not. He just wanted to leave. To never set eyes on her again. He did though. He turned and met her fiery gaze with his own "I don't know." he whispered sadly, all the anger draining from him with each of those words. "But I'm starting to think it was a mistake."_

_She blinked back, clearly stung by the words. Good. Gendry saw as she worried her bottom lip against her teeth to keep herself in one piece. "Well," she spoke stiffly. "It's not too late. You can still leave. No one is stopping you."_

_There was a long pause before he finally spoke. "Maybe I will." _

Gendry coughed himself awake, and Brienne was by his side, helping him sit.

"Breathe. Breathe." she repeated, and he did, fighting against the cough. He felt a straw slip between his lips. "Drink." Brienne told him, and he did. Taking a few, long sucks before pushing her hand with the cup away.

"Better?" she asked, as if speaking to a child. He nodded. "Bad dream?"

"No." he shook his head. "Memory. I remember now."

"All of it?" she said in a shrill voice. Very unlike Brienne.

Gendry met her large, blue eyes so that she could see the truth in _his_. "All of it."

**AN**

**So i deserve to be stoned by you all. This took forever. And as always. I'm sorry. **

**It became this huge, complicated chapter. And my beta left to France so I didn't want to bother with it until she returned. But here it is, finally. **

**Everything is falling down at once, and I don't even know where to begin. For those of you who haven't guessed it. I'm bringing back everyone together slowly. Robb and Sansa are back together and looking for a to bring Bran to England again. Rickon is reunited with them. Sansa and Sandor are reunited. Brienne, Gendry and Sandor are back in Sheffield. Jorah and Dany are in Sheffield too, and dun, dun dunn... Dany is somehow now superior to Jorah ;)**

**Robert knows about Gendry now, and Jaime has been found.**

**A few Arya/Gendry moments, if only in memories. **

**And the mysterious red-haired "Arnold" guy that smells like strawberries.**

**Please comment! I love to hear what you think. I love to hear which bits are your favorite. **

**Thanks to all of you. I haven't made time to reply to your comments on the last chapter, but I hope to do that tonight. **

**I love you all. Follow me on tumblr, especially those that are guests here. I want to be able to reply to your comments too. **


	31. Chapter 31

"All of it?" Brienne repeated his words in disbelief. "You remember all of it?"

Gendry jerked off the bed suddenly, startling Brienne and pulling at the cables and tubes that were connected to his arms and chest. His face twisted in pain.

"Gendry!" Brienne caught the IV stand in one hand and pushed him down onto the bed with the other. "Did you forget you're injured?" she demanded angrily. He groaned in reply, letting himself fall back on the pillow.

"Arnold." he breathed out. "He's not Arnold."

"What!?"

"His name is Anguy. I met him in Spain. He works for Jaqen."

Brienne's eyes grew wide. "Don't move!" she barked at him, nostrils flared, and ran out the room and to the nurse's station across the hall.

"Contact security. Tell them to put the hospital on lockdown," she yelled at the nurse behind the desk, who jumped in her seat at the sound of Brienne's voice before clumsily pulling the phone off the receiver. Brienne pushed herself away from the counter and ran the opposite direction, attracting the attention of everyone in the corridor.

"Excuse me!" she heard someone, a doctor, call out to her. She ignored him and made her way to one of the officers stationed at the floor, for both Gendry and Robert's security. As soon as he saw her running towards him, he unlocked his hands and took a few steps towards her. On the intercom, she could hear a female repeat the words "code grey" over and over again.

"One of the nurses." Brienne told the officer, but before she could finish her sentence, the doctor that had been calling after her had caught up and placed a heavy hand on her shoulder.

"What is going on?" he hissed through his teeth.

"One of the members of your staff. He's not who he says he is. Arnold. A red haired boy. Early 20s."

"I've never heard of any Arnold," the doctor said.

"He's been here all week."

The doctor nodded. "Have a look around, officer," he told the Constable with another nod. "Follow me." he told Brienne, pushing her softly across the corridor and into a small room with a desk and a computer. The doctor sat on the desk and moved the computer mouse around until the screen saver blurred into the hospital home screen.

"I should call Inspector Daenerys." Brienne told the doctor.

"Go ahead. I'll log into the system to check for any records on this man, Arnold, you said his name was?"

Brienne nodded and stepped out of the room to make the call. Daenerys answered on the second ring. She had already been notified, but Brienne gave her details.

"I'm on my way." the Inspector told Brienne before she hung up.

By then, more hospital staff had made their way to the floor, as well as hospital security.

"What is going on Dr. Fitzgerald?" a woman wearing a white hospital coat over a skirt and jacket suit demanded as she squeezed into the small room besides Brienne. "The hospital's on lockdown. I have outpatients that need to leave."

"ER still open?" the man asked as he typed over the keyboard.

"This is a matter of security," Brienne told the woman. "A man involved in the Baratheon case was posing as a nurse."

"What man?" the woman asked the Dr.

"Arnold Smith. Here he is," the doctor said, and both Brienne and the woman in the hospital coat leaned into the screen.

"That's him!" Brienne cried out. "He can't leave this hospital."

"I've never seen him before." the woman said.

"Nor have I." the doctor confessed.

Brienne was about to squeeze out of the small room, when the computer screen turned a bright yellow and digital hourglass spun in the center.

"What is that?" she barked out, finger pointed at the screen.

"Someone's hacking into the system." the doctor gasped out, and just like that, the screen turned black, then returned to the hospital records page.

"What happened?" the woman demanded besides Brienne.

The man typed in Arnold Smith on the search bar. No record. "He's gone. His record's gone." the doctor whispered.

Brienne slammed the woman against the wall as she stormed out of the room.

"Look for a red haired boy. Five feet, nine inches. Lean figure. May or may not be dressed as a nurse." Brienne ordered all the security team members and hospital staff that had gathered around the door of the small room as she pushed her way through and made her way to Gendry's room.

"Did you find him?"

"No. But the hospital is on lockdown. If he is in the hospital, we'll find him. I'll be back. If anyone you don't know walks in here, call the nurses. Or scream."

"I'll be fine." Gendry groaned at her, "You're wasting time, go!"

"I have my mobile." she called to him over her shoulder as she ran out of the room, headed for the lifts.

She would look in every room . . . every closet . . . every corner of this hospital until she found him.

xxxxxxxxxx

He had been in the dark for some time. Nothing below or above him. Nothing around him. Not even emptiness.

Just...

... darkness.

Not like a hole, or a dark room. Not like when you close your eyes. Even then, you see light, if there is any. There must have not been a single fleck of light anywhere here. In fact, he felt as though he had no eyelids at all. He was naked. And he was alone.

When he had finally woken up, it had been in a bright, white room that, a blinding contrast to the darkness he had been in in his dreams. He could feel most of his body here, unlike in the dark abyss of his dream, and it felt broken. Shattered.

Two blurred figures leered over his face. One of them lifted one of his eyelids to pass a light over one eye, then the other.

SO ... I do have eyelids.

"We have pupil response," he heard. At that moment both figures had been shoved aside, another taking their place.

"Gendry? Can you hear me? It's Brienne."

No I can't hear you! Bugger the fuck off, now!

He closed his eyes. He felt too tired to answer. He had no idea who either Gendry or Brienne were.

"Give him some space. He just woke up," an irritated voice called, and the blonde haired figure before him pulled away and his eyes closed and he welcomed the dark.

When he'd woken for a second time, a doctor had briefly examined him before the same persistent blonde came to his side again, grabbing his hand. This time his eyes were focused, and he could see the girl's features clearly. He had never seen her before.

She went on and on in a low voice, telling him meaningless information and talking on and on about people he had never heard of before. When she finally stopped a moment to take a breath, he cleared his throat and told her he didn't know who she, or any of the people in her stories were.

"It's me. Brienne, Gendry."

"I don't know who Gendry is either."

She'd called the doctor then, and after asking him several question he knew not the answers to, the doctor pulled Brienne aside and whispered something to her.

"You have temporary amnesia." Brienne had informed him once the doctor had left.

"When will I remember... stuff?"

"He said it varies. I'll help you as much as I can. But I've only known you a few months."

"Are we... dating?"

She shook her head. "We're mates."

Gendry nodded. It somehow made sense. She felt like a friend.

Not a lot was said the first few days. He spent most of them heavily medicated.

She rarely left his side. Helping him as much as she could. She even helped him undress when he had to shower, which he had felt very embarrassed about, but it had been necessary.

Whenever she left, even for just an hour, Anguy would come by and chat with him. Only he had no idea he was Anguy, not yet anyway.

"We went to University together. I had you for a class." the boy had said. "Arnold? I'm sure you don't remember. We weren't too close."

He smelled like strawberries and his nose was peppered in an exaggerated number of freckles as orange as his hair.

His gut said, _I know him_, but his mind found no place for his face and his name and his voice. But his scent. Shampoo, aftershave, or soap, whatever it was that filled the air with the subtle scent of strawberries, teased at Gendry's memories, and confirmed it. He knew him.

_...he leaned into her and sniffed at her hair._

_Why the hell was he smelling her?_

_"You even smell nice for a change."_

It all made sense now. Now that his memory was back. Returned to him the night of his fevered dream. He'd dreamt of Arya. He told Brienne about it and she had security put the hospital on lockdown, but it was useless. After long hours of searching, she came back to his room with a frown, followed by a man and a woman.

"You didn't find him." Gendry guessed.

"Unfortunately not, but we are still looking for him. We have a picture of him, so it won't be long now." the woman, whom he'd never seen before, told him.

"Excuse me, I don't know you." Gendry said rudely.

"My apologies. I'm Inspector Targaryen. This is my partner Chief Inspector Mormont. We're from Scotland Yard. I'm in charge of the Stark case and I was wondering if we might ask you a few questions, seeing as your memory has returned."

"He's tired. Exhausted. He needs rest. I'm sure this can wait." Brienne had barked at the woman, coming protectively between her and Gendry's bed.

"Brienne, it's fine."

"No it's not!" Brienne snapped.

"We can return in the morning, Dany." the man, Chief Inspector Mormont, stepped besides Inspector Targaryen and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Tell that to the body we might find lying besides some snowy wheelie bin in the morning. We can't waste time! If what is in the CD is true, every minute that passes by, Cersei is slipping further and further beyond our grasps."

"If?" Brienne asked acidly.

"CD?" Gendry asked, then he remembered. "The recording."

"Yes." Inspector Targaryen said, "You were there with Cersei Baratheon. You travelled with the Stark girl. You were there when Yoren was killed. Heard the voices of the men who killed him. You are the only one in this room who can ID Jaqen. Who has been in the same room as him. Are all the stories we've heard about you true?"

Gendry shifted his weight on the bed. "Yes." he allowed uneasily.

"Then you see why it is important we speak."

He nodded. His head was softly throbbing with the beginnings of a headache. "Brienne, give me a moment with them. I'll be fine."

At first she stood completely still, and Gendry thought she wouldn't leave, but then she exhaled sharply, clearly upset, and crossed to the door.

"Don't exhaust him too much." she said before exiting.

"Now," the Inspector said, sitting on the chair besides his bed and pressing the button on her small recorder, "Start at the beginning."

xxxxxxxxxx

"What happened?" Sansa asked Robb as soon as he walked into their suite. He had just returned from offering Brienne the number of their father's attorney.

He pulled his scarf and coat off and dusted the thick collection of snow flakes from his head before he answered.

"She thanked me, but she said she and Renly have a lawyer friend. She's meeting up with him this afternoon." he crossed to the kitchenette, perhaps lured by the aroma of Alicia's hot chocolate.

Sansa turned to the window again, losing herself in the feathery thick fall of the snow. Just the way she liked it. "This will be our first Christmas . . . without father and mother."

"And without Arya." Robb added as he offered her a warm mug of hot chocolate. She took it carefully, and turned out the window once more.

"I know she's alive. My heart tells me so. I can feel her," she turned to Robb. "She's so strong, isn't she?" she chuckled ruefully. All she wanted at that moment, was to wrap her arms around her little sister, and pepper her face with kisses, not caring whether Arya pulled away and screwed her face in disgust. "She's so strong that I can feel her. Feel how alive she is . . ." Robb nodded. His wide eyes had glazed over. Sansa took in a deep breath before she spoke again. "Mother and father though . . . We will spend the rest of our Christmases without them. _This _marks our first."

Bran had been returned to them two days after Rickon had. All thanks to Petyr. Sansa was still very angry at the man who had once been a close friend of their family.

Robb didn't trust him either, but that didn't stop him from asking the man for help. Petyr asked a few favours of his contacts and Robb flew over to Spain and back in a private jet, with Bran, Alicia and Grandfather Tully. Their suite was big enough for the six of them, but on the night of their return from Spain, Robb shared his plans with both Sansa and Alicia.

"I'm arranging for our old house on Winterfell Road to be repaired."

Sansa had agreed. It was the most reasonable thing to do. There was no way any of them could ever return to their house. That's were their mother had been murdered and there was simply too many memories in that house. They'd moved out of the Winterfell house when Jon had left for the army. She had been 13 then. All the memories of that place were happy ones.

They were slowly uniting their family again, but the nightmare was far from over. The afternoon Rickon was returned to them, Jaime Lannister was found hiding in the basement of an abandoned building and Gendry recovered his memory, bringing answers to some questions, but also more questions in need of answers. The authorities held their first press conference since the case was given to Daenerys the following day, which brought a bit of reassurance. But Daenerys was very tightlipped about most of the details, but she did tell Sansa and Robb, however that Jaime wasn't being at all cooperative. They had not had the opportunity to properly question him, since he was still in the hospital due to a severe infection he'd caught on burn wounds that were found all over his back and chest. He wasn't sharing any information about how he got those either, but Brienne had already confessed what her role had been in Jaime's injuries the morning after Jaime's accident. When Jaime was found, Robb sought out Brienne to offer her the number of their lawyer, knowing she'd go up for questioning during Jaime's trial. After two days in the hospital, Jaime had been released and his court date was set for the 22nd day of December.

That was tomorrow.

"It will be difficult, sister. But we are strong. Stronger now that we are more whole."

Apparently Osha, the woman who had kidnapped Rickon, had not said anything to him about the outcome of the Cutler's Hall shooting, or the death of their mother and father. So it fell on Sansa and Robb to tell him. They struggled for words, stumbling with their own emotions as they explained to their youngest brother that mother and father were dead.

It was like salt in to wound, and their sibling connection only made the ache feel fresh as they saw their youngest brother's face twist in sorrow before he buried it in a pillow. Robb pulled him into his arms and hugged him tightly. He didn't try to whisper comforting words into the boy's ear. Sansa knew they we're nearly impossible to utter when you needed them just as much.

Rickon didn't say much the next morning, except when asked if Osha harmed him or mistreated him in any way.

"No. She was nice. She said that bad people had tried to hurt Robert at the party and that she had to keep me hidden until she was sure it was safe to return home."

Bran's return lighten his moods.

"We _are_ strong." she admitted to Robb as she rose from her seat, and placed the half empty mug of hot chocolate on the coffee table. When she crossed to fetch her coat, Robb asked where she was off to.

"I'm meeting someone."

"Who?"

"Gendry," Sansa told her brother. He hadn't yet been released from the hospital, but had agreed to meet her. "You should come. He was the last person to see Arya alive. I want to get the full story, not Daenerys's watered down version. The boys are still in bed. Alicia will watch over them."

"Like she doesn't already have her hands full with Grandfather." Robb said, but he stood and crossed for his coat.

Leaving the hotel was becoming easier. The outside of the building wasn't as full of journalist as it had been the morning after Joffrey's death. Daenerys had arranged a car service for them, which was always ready at the doors. There was still the occasional journalist here and there that managed to snap a few photographs of them as they jumped into the car, and Sansa would see their pictures on the cover of a magazine or a newspaper with some ridiculous caption on it. She's learned to not let them affect her though.

They met Gendry for coffee at the hospital cafeteria.

She had only met him once before, the afternoon he'd arrested Arya for the first time for egging both Sansa and her car. He'd lost some color. His hair was longer and his face scruffy. It made him look older. There was a healing scar over one of his brows she hadn't noticed before.

"Thank you for meeting us," she said as she shook his hand, "This is my oldest brother Robb."

They shook hands.

"I've... heard a lot about you. Both of you." Gendry said awkwardly. "I'm sorry about your parents. I never met your mother... but Ned... he was a good man."

"Thank you." Robb told him.

Sansa smiled at Gendry, hoping it would calm his nerves a bit.

They stood in line to buy their coffees, making small talk about his health and recovery and made their way to a table in the more deserted part of the cafeteria.

"So my sister came to you? The night of my party." Sansa asked as she uncapped her coffee to add the fixings.

Gendry nodded. "Her and Yoren. They told me all about it."

"I don't know, her side of the story. I was up on stage. It all happened so fast."

Gendry nodded, understanding what she was asking. "She told me she saw it happen, and then she saw your father dragged out into a hallway by some men. She followed them. To the basement." Gendry paused, staring down at the coffee in his hands. He licked his lip once. Twice. Sansa saw the clear movement in his throat as he gulped, before he spoke again. "She saw the men, the men that killed your father. She was with him, when he..."

"She was?" Robb asked. Daenerys hadn't shared that bit with Robb and Sansa.

"That's good." Sansa felt the warm tears roll down her cheeks. "That he wasn't alone." she sobbed out softly, taking the napkin Robb offered her and pressing it under her eyes.

"Yes." Gendry agreed.

"And you were there for her." Robb said. He'd slipped his hand into Sansa's under the table.

"It was supposed to be the three of us. Yoren, Arya and I. He told me Robert was my father and that I had to run too. It's like he knew before anyone else, the severity of the situation. He knew the will was the cause of it all."

"Father trusted him." Robb said with a nod. "He must have shared some information with him."

"And it got him killed." Gendry said stiffly. "So it was up to me to get Arya safely to London. When we arrived to the hospital, you were gone." he told Robb. "And Arya said you were most likely in Spain. So we used the money and fake passports Yoren had made for us and made our way to Spain. But we ran into a group of men there. Jaqen's men. Arya knew one of them. Harwin."

"Harwin?" Sansa gasped out. He had worked for their father years ago.

"He was a friend of father's," Robb said.

"Yes.. I know. Arya told me. When he figured out it was her, he decided to take us to Jaqen. He knew a lot about the Lannisters, and said he could get at them if Arya became bate. I was against it, and tried to get her out of there, but they knocked me unconscious and dragged me out of ther. When I woke Arya was there. All she said was that they came up with some, sort of _plan_, Jaqen and her. She wouldn't tell me what it was, but when we heard news about your mum, it didn't matter to her anymore. She just wanted to come home to you. To both of you. We found the chance to escape and were headed home, but along the way, Sandor caught up to us." Gendry paused, smiling sadly at Sansa. "Arya held a lighter to the poor sod's face, trying to get him to confess whether it had really been you who sent him."

Robb chuckled softly. "Sounds like Arya." he said with eyes bright with tears. Sansa smiled too, even though she felt terrible for Sandor. He'd told her the story of how he'd burned his face.

"We tied him up. Arya didn't trust him. Neither did I... but something happened overnight. Something that made Arya change her mind about him. Then it became three of us. Trying to make out way home unnoticed. We were being followed though. By a Lannister man. He caught up to us in Bordeaux." Gendry paused briefly, licking his lips again nervously. "I took care of him, but the next morning, Arya was gone. Took her belongings and the car we rented."

"She didn't say anything, the night before?" Sansa asked him. "Anything that might help us figure out where she left to?"

Gendry's jaw tensed and he dropped his gaze. "No. Nothing. I've gone over that night many times. Can't find anything. My only guess is she went back to Jaqen. Maybe changed her mind about him."

Sansa reached across the table to grab Gendry's hand. "It's not your fault." she told him, noticing how upset he looked all of a sudden. "You have done more than enough, more than could ever be expected from anyone who wasn't family."

"I didn't know her long." Gendry looked up at Sansa. "But I've never met anyone . . . like her . . ." he stole at quick glance in Robb's direction, and pulled his hand away from Sansa's, dropping his gaze again.

"We'll find her." Robb let out with determination. Gendry turned to him and nodded.

"I think he has feelings for her." Sansa told Robb on the drive back to the hotel.

"Maybe." Robb didn't meet her eyes. He was looking out the window. "They hadn't known each other long before the shooting."

"Arya and I met Gendry a few days after we returned from our trip with the Baratheon's. That was about three months before the incident, I believe."

"So they knew eath other three months, yes. But all they did during those months was play cops and robbers." Robb snapped at her. Sansa smiled.

It was true. Every time Arya had been arrested during those months, Gendry was behind the arrest.

They spent the rest of their day indoors. It was the calm before the storm, and night couldn't have come any sooner.

Sansa slept restlessly that night, both looking forward to and dreading the trial. When she woke up, her back was stiff, and her chest felt heavy. She'd cried most of the night, like every night before, but this time, it was for Arya. _I need her._

When she walked out of her room, Alicia and Robb were making breakfast. Sansa just nibbled on a bit of toast and washed it down with black coffee. She knew if she tried eating anything else, her nerves wouldn't let it stick.

She would see Sandor today. She'd been trying to get ahold of him since the the morning after Rickon was returned to them, but it was as if her were avoiding her. He was still not answering all the times she'd rung his mobile. She'd meant to ask Gendry about him during their meeting, but then Robb had tagged along, and after the curious look she'd received from her brother when she placed a soft kiss on Sandor's jaw, she didn't want to raise more questions.

He would be there today though. Along with Gendry and Brienne. Gendry had mentioned that both he and Sandor were on Brienne's witness list.

Arriving at the Sheffield Crown Court was like the day after Joffrey's death all over again. News reporters and journalists lined the corded walkway between their car and the doors; flashes of cameras and a loud cacophony of questions followed them until they made it to the door, held open by two officers.

There were several people she recognized as soon as she walked into the court room. Amongst them, she spotted Tywin with Myrcella and Tommen, and their uncle Kevan was conversing with Tyrion two rows down from Tywin and the children.

Her eyes searched the room until she found Gendry sitting between Brienne and Sandor across the room. Her heart skipped a beat. _I will talk to him today! Even if he doesn't want to._

The courtroom suddenly grew quiet when Jaime was escorted to his balcony by two officers. His hair was longer and his tired face was decorated by fading bruises. He'd lost some weight.

"All rise," a voice called out as the judge crossed to his seat. He nodded his permission and everyone sat.

And then the unexpected happened.

"Stop!" Jaime cried as he rose to his feet.

"Mr. Lannister, sit down." the judge called to him, a constable already crossing over to Jaime.

"Stop. I ... I plea guilty. I don't want a trial. I plea guilty. And not just... to witnessing the death of Renly Baratheon... but causing it."

Sansa could hear sharp intakes of breath through out the court room. Robb slid to the edge of his seat, staring intently down at Jaime. For a brief second Sansa could have sworn she saw, out of the corner of her eye, Brienne try to rise from her chair. When her head snapped in their direction though, Brienne was still sat in her seat.

"You're confessing? You killed Renly Baratheon?" the judge asked.

"Yes, Your Honour. Just like I tried to kill Robert Baratheon," soft murmurs could be heard all around the court room. "It was not Ned Stark. I sent my men to kill him because he saw it was really me... He's dead because of me. I killed him. Just like I killed Theon Greyjoy, and the pub owner found dead in his pub... besides the alleyway where Theon's body was found. I killed Catelyn Stark." his eyes searched the room, landing on both Robb and Sansa. "She didn't kill herself. I killed her. I tried to kill her son, Bran Stark, as well. Twice."

The entire room, silent just moments ago, broke in uproar. Sansa's hand clapped over her mouth, a rush of shock making her shudder. Beside her, Robb's back stiffened. Gendry caught her eye across the room as he rose from his seat, his jaw set in fury, and made his way up the stairs, for the doors.

The judge banged his gavel, calling for silence, Tyrion rose from his chair, and was yelling, but amid the shouts of everyone else, Sansa couldn't hear the small man. Brienne was on her feet too, struggling to pull her arm free from Sandor's grasp.

Sansa had to get away from this. She had to get away.

She sprung from her seat, without an explanation for Robb, and ran for the doors. Gendry caught her eye, walking down the corridor, towards the exit.

"Gendry!" she called. He turned.

"He's _lying_." he pointed back in the direction of the courtroom as she ran towards him, the sound of her heels echoing off the walls.

"I think so too. I remember Cutler's Hall. He was right by the stage. I don't think he tried to kill Robert."

"Brienne was there when Renly was shot. It was Cersei." he told Sansa. She nodded. She'd heard the story from Brienne herself.

"He's protecting Cersei."

"Shit!" he huffed out, shaking his head in frustration. "I have to get out of here."

Sansa didn't get a chance to reply because at that moment the corridor flooded with people. When she turned back to Gendry, he was already walking away.

"Sansa!" she heard her name from the crowd. It was Robb.

"What happened?" she crossed to him.

"He was sentenced. For life."

The revelation pulsed through her unpleasantly. This was wrong. It was all wrong!

She was about to speak, when her eyes caught a glimpse of Sandor in the crowd, towering in height over most.

"Sandor!" she called, to him, pushing past Robb. The man's head snapped in her direction briefly. Their eyes locked for a brief moment before he turned away and got lost in the crowd. _Shit!_ She called his name again, drawing the attention of some of the people that crowded the corridor. Sansa didn't care though. Not about them, nor what her brother would think.

She pushed though the crowd, her eyes fixed on the back of Sandor's head as he retreated from her, her shoulders knocking against the shoulders and arms of others. She called to him again. Daenerys and Jorah caught her eye briefly as they exited the court room, but she ignored their beckoning. She finally made it though the crowd, and Sandor was not too far ahead of her. He was by the door already, holding it open for Brienne.

She drew in a lungful of air, ready to call for him, when a hand encircled her wrist and span her round. It was Tyrion.

"We need to talk."

xxxxxxxxxx

Gendry crossed from the Courthouse to police escort car stiffly, holding down the unbelievable urge to sock one of the reporters or camera men who insisted on shoving microphones and camera lenses to his face. The officer that walked him to the car pushed most of them back, but a few here and there snapped a picture, blinding him, or called, "Gendry, Gendry! What was the verdict! Gendry!? Gendry! Have you visited your father in the hospital? Gendry! Gendry! Do you think Ned Stark really killed Robert? Gendry!"

He slammed the car door behind him, fisting his hands around his hair. A few of the reporters crowded around his window, but the car moved forward then, and Gendry let his head fall softly against the window.

"Crazy snow!" the officer chuckled from the front of the car. "Need a drink?" Gendry shook his head.

"No."

"It will help you forget. Whatever it is that's troubling you."

Gendry considered it for a moment. He did want to forget. About Arya, and Ned, and the Lannisters, but mostly about his father, and the events of that morning. He closed his eyes.

_"No one is perfect, Gendry." Brienne leaned on the bathroom door as he splashed cold water over his face. He took a good look in the mirror. The hospital bathroom light made his dripping wet skin appear drained. Brienne had brought him a shaving kit, and he'd shaved his face, but his hair had grown into a shaggy mop._

_At least it covered the angry, healing cut above his eyebrow. He wiped a towel over his face and pushed out of the restroom, past Brienne._

_"Not you, not me, not anyone. " she continued, following him out of the bathroom. Gendry pushed a folded jumper into the bag on the bed and zipped it close, scanning the hospital room one last time. "Ned Stark was not perfect. Renly wasn't perfect. Your father isn't perfect. Go see him."_

_Gendry had received his discharge early that morning, and he knew that Brienne knew this was her last chance to try and convince him to visit Robert._

_"The last thing I need right now is..."_

_"That's exactly what you need right now! You don't need it weighing you down. You have too much crap to deal with. Get it out of the way, so you can move forward now. Go... Gendry." she paused briefly, licking her lips, almost nervously. "He's waiting for you."_

_A wave of anger hit him. Brienne bit her lip, and for a brief moment, she reminded him of Arya. He shook his head at her. She was so stubborn. "Fine." he said, turning away from the blonde and stalking for the door._

_He walked down the hospital corridor slowly. Uneasily. The nurses that caught his eyes smiled at him knowingly. He didn't smile back. He couldn't. He had to knock only once before he heard a thick voice call him in._

_Gendry turned the knob, pushing the door open, and stepped inside the room hesitantly. He didn't want to be here._

_"Hello." Robert said hoarsely from where he sat on his bed. Someone had combed his hair to one side, Gendry noticed, and the man looked freshly showered. He was breathing heavily. Gendry could hear him from where he stood, a few feet away from the door, which had closed behind him with a quiet click. He could just leave. Just walk away._

_"Hi." Gendry said._

_"Please, sit." Robert nodded towards the empty chair besides his bed. He was as nervous as Gendry. Shaking like a leaf._

_Gendry shook his head. "I-I won't be staying long. Just..." his mind went blank. Robert's clearly had gone blank as well. His eyes were darting all over the room, never meeting Gendry's. Finally after a long, drawn out silence in which Gendry felt anxiety curl and twist beneath his skin, Robert spoke._

_"We met before. Once."_

_"Yes." Gendry remembered the day too well. Robert had been drunk, and he'd insulted Brienne. "I'd seen you on the television before though."_

_"Oh, yes." Robert licked his lips. The skin around his eyes was one large bruise, his was face colorless, and there was no shine in his blue eyes. Eyes like mine. Gendry thought._

_"Yep. I remember seeing you a while back. When you were talking about that new hospital wing you were sponsoring. For Bran Stark, your friend Ned's son." Gendry took a step forward. "I remember thinking, how is Ned friends with that man? But then I realized, that's just how Ned was. He looked past flaws. Saw the best in men. He certainly saw the best in me. That's probably why I loved him. I would tell myself, if I don't have a father to look up to, at least I have Ned. I wanted to be like Ned..."_

_Robert parted his lips to speak, but Gendry spoke before him._

_"The thing is though . . . I'm not Ned. I will never be like him, I fear. Now, I'm sure you're a good man, somewhere in there. Ned thought so, so you must be. Trust me, I've met my fair share of evil men this past month to know, even when you're a stranger to me, that you're not evil." he chuckled mirthlessly. "But you tell that to my mum."_

_Robert blinked hard, clearing his throat nervously. "I'm . . . sorry. . ." he rasped out._

_"I believe you." Gendry nodded once. "But right now . . . I just can't try and find what it is Ned found in you to love. Not today," he shook his head, hearing how vile his words sounded, "Not anytime soon . . . I'm sorry. Really I am. This is the last thing you need to hear right now, having just lost your son . . . but I don't want to get to know you. I don't want a father. I don't want you in my life right now. Not yet. Maybe not ever . . . I don't want your money. I think we can both agree that it has brought enough sorrow and death already. I want no part in your will. I just want you to just, leave me out of your life... I'm certainly considering leaving you out of mine."_

_Robert, who had slightly shrunk into his bed, nodded quickly at Gendry._

_"I'm sorry." Gendry whispered stifly. His insides were on fire. Rage, ache, guilt, all lancing up and down his limbs and turning in his stomach._

_"Thank you." Robert whispered back. "For being honest. I ... see a lot of your mother in you. You even look a little like her."_

_"No. I don't. Sadly." Gendry swallowed. "Goodbye Robert." he said, before turning for the door._

_The word had dropped out of his mouth like poisonous thorns, and he didn't feel the relief, and weightlessness Brienne had promised he'd feel. He'd just hurt Robert. More than he deserved, perhaps._

_All anyone ever saw in him was money. Power and money. That's all his wife ever loved of him. That's why she'd caused him so much pain. Perhaps that's all his mother had ever seen in him too. And now, that part of him that people loved him for, was the reason why Gendry had just turned his back on him._

_When he walked back into his room, Brienne rose off her chair, and they both stood there in silence, staring at each other as the seconds on the her wrist watch ticked by, each ticking louder and louder, until Gendry realized it was his heartbeat. Beating loudly in his ears. Drowning out all other noise. _

_Brienne was the first to speak. "Are you alright?" she finally asked._

_Gendry shrugged. No, he wasn't. He closed the distance between them, crashing into her chest and twisting the back of her shirt in his fists as his silent sobs shook him in her embrace._

_"Ohh, heeeyy..." she whispered softly against his hair. "It's alright." she pressed a kiss on top of his head, tightening her grasp around him. "The worst is over." she whispered, pressing another kiss on his head._

Gendry opened his eyes, about to tell the officer that they _should_ stop for a drink, when he noticed they were going the wrong way.

"Where the hell are you taking me?" Gendry asked rudely, noticing for the first time, that the officer sitting behind the wheel wasn't the same one that had driven him and Brienne to the Court. It was...

"Anguy!"

The door locks clicked, and Anguy peered back at Gendry through the barrier fence with a smile. "It took you a while."

Gendry let his head fall back in exasperation, exhaling long and slow to calm himself. Would this nightmare ever fucking end. He pulled his mobile out of his coat pocket.

"I wouldn't do that." Anguy said, glancing at Gendry over the rear view mirror. Gendry ignored him, scrolling down his phone to Brienne's name, pressing call. "Because we have Arya."

And then, Gendry pressed the "end call" button.

**AN**

**Hi my darlings.**

**First off, before anything else is said, yes, there was no Arya in this chapter, and that is simply because the next chapter will be all Arya. Every bit of it :)**

**So going back to this chapter. **

**Mystery red haired Arnold bloke was none other than Anguy. No one commented on it, but I thought it was obvious enough, since Jaqen had sent Anguy to keep an eye on Gendry. **

**Gendry recovered his memory.**

**This chapter was slightly big on Sansa, but through her we got to see some Gendry and the Jaime trial. **

**Also, we answered some questions readers had about the kids. I just didn't want to leave them unmentioned. **

**SO yes, Jaime trial, he plead guilty, to crimes he didn't commit, Catelyn, Renly, Robert, and Ned. ( He did kill Theon and the old man at the pub, and he did push Bran)**

**And speaking of Robert, Gendry finally spoke to him. :'(**

**And we are left with Sansa/Tyrion and Anguy/Gendry cliffhangers. **

**After this chapter, the plot will pick up again, and like I mentioned, Arya chapter next time. **

**Thanks for all your reviews. That last chapter got a great reception. More reviews than any other chapter. Thank you all so much for your support and keep those reviews coming.. They're my fuel :) you guys are the ones that keep this story ablaze.**

**And we are a day away from Season 3! Fuck yea! Bring it on!**

**Thanks again :) I love you all! And review!**


	32. Chapter 32

Garment after garment dropped besides her feet as Cat peeled them off her body with sore arms until she was standing naked before the mirror. She took in the sight of the bruises that ran along her legs, torso and arms with pride, and smiled. Every hurt is a lesson, and every lesson made her better.

They ranged in size and colour; going from fading green to sickly yellow to angry blue. New bruises bloomed daily. Cat knew the origin of almost every bruise.

Her fingertips traced the thin, protruding scars that snaked around her wrists. They radiated anger. The flesh had scarred into a slick pink and Cat knew they would mark her wrists for years to come, if not for the rest of her life.

Her fingertips found the bruises under her breasts next. They were a lively purple rimmed with pink. Cat pressed down on one. The skin was still sensitive. She had no memory of how or when she got the scars around her wrists or the bruises along either side of her rib cage. All thanks to the memory loss. The mystery behind them fascinated her. She made up several stories in her head as to how she had come upon the injuries behind the scars and bruises. They were all silly, eccentric stories... but they were all she had.

Cat slid the glass door and reached into the shower to turn it on. This last _exercise_, as Jaqen liked to call them, had been the most difficult. Cat stepped inside the steamy shower, sliding the door closed behind her as she stepped under the water. Her eyes closed involuntarily and she felt the muscles on her back ripple free of the exhaustion. This was her first shower in three days.

_"What's in there?" Cat asked Jaqen with a curious cock of her head towards the large metal cage on the back of the truck. Jaqen smiled at her._

_"It is your next exercise."_

_This was the third time they'd moved in less than a week. They were in a desert now. A private property Jaqen claimed to own. The drive alone had taken them two days. The hike to the shack another._

_Jaqen opened the cage carefully and a large wild cat walked out and jumped off the truck. Cat smiled. It was beautiful. It had long, pointy ears, angular fur under its chin and a spotted, sandy coloured coat that was a warm contrast to the white of the snow that surrounded them. After feeling its way around the snow a while, the wild cat set off towards a hill._

_"She is an Iberian lynx. Precious... and endangered." Jaqen's slow voice announced._

_Cat's eyes furrowed. "Then why let her go?"_

_"So you can bring her back to me. Safe. Unharmed. There is a perimeter, but the area is large. She is not used to this weather. It is much warmer where she is kept."_

_"How will I even find her?" Cat began to argue, shaking her head at the absurdity of the task. Jaqen shrugged. "_You_have to figure that out."_

_Cat sighed, her eyes searching for the lynx. She was gone. Cat bit her lip. "Alright." she said, and started jogging towards the hill, where she'd last seen the animal. She began making a mental checklist of everything she had in the pack she carried on her back when the gunshot rang in the air. Cat flinched at the sound, ducking her head briefly before turning towards Jaqen. He was loading a rifle._

_"What the hell are you doing?" she growled at him._

_"There's . . . a twist."_

_"There is always a twist with you."_

_"You chase her, I chase you... with this." Jaqen cocked his rifle. Cat's head filled with panic. Part of her wanted to run, the other wanted to talk some sense into Jaqen, and another wanted to take the rifle from Jaqen and blow some holes in his stupid skull. "You have a 30 second head start." he called in her direction, making up her mind for her. " Better run. Now."_

_And she did._

Cat pressed her forehead against the shower tile, breathing though her mouth as water washed down her face and bare back, weighing down her eyelashes.

There were moments she feared Jaqen. He was all she had. All she knew, and yet she didn't know him at all. She had no idea who he was. Her eyes snapped open. The revelation chilled her, even under the hot water.

She stood under the water for nearly an hour, letting the warmth soak into her again, before she turned off the water.

As she stepped out and wrapped a towel around her naked body, she crossed in front of the mirror and caught a glimpse of her reflection in the steamy glass. She had grown tired of her reflection. The short girl with cropped hair and large eyes was a stranger to her, and something behind her gaze accused Cat.

She dried off quickly and slipped into her silk pajamas, shrugging on a night robe before leaving her room. She found Jaqen sitting in front of the fireplace. The flames could be seen dancing in his reading glasses and they lit his face aglow. He looked up from the folder he was reading and greeted her with a smile.

"Exhausted?" he asked, closing the file. He set it aside on a table and picked up an empty wine glass, which he filled. He turned to her with a beckoning smile and held the glass up for her. "You did really well."

Cat took the seat besides him on the large sofa, tucking her feet under her bum. "I don't like the taste." she blinked down at the glass.

"Yes you do," he smiled one of his dark, charming smiles. "You just need to grow used to it."

Cat took it and sipped courteously. He was wrong. She definitely didn't like the taste. She drank it anyway, enjoying the woody burning sensation that ran down her arms every time she took a sip.

They sat in silence for a long time, listening to nothing but the crackling of the firewood. Cat never enjoyed these moments of silence with Jaqen. Perhaps because there were to many of them, and they usually resulted in thought after though, filling her head with questions, and more questions. Questions she had no answer to.

She turned to Jaqen, smiling at the unguarded expression on his face. He was very handsome.

"What are you thinking about?" her voice startled him.

"Nothing important, lovely Cat. It would bore you." he answered her, taking a sip of his drink.

Cat felt her body tense, and shifted her weight on the sofa so that she was facing him.

"I don't care if it's boring, or pointless. I want to know. I want to know what you are always thinking about. What goes on inside your head. Why you are always so quiet, and why you look far off and away all of the time."

Jaqen smiled, a sweet, almost pained smile. "It really is boring. I am not as mysterious or complicated as you may think."

Cat scoffed, facing away from him. A charred log hissed before spitting in the fireplace, echoing Cat's frustration.

"My answer upsets you?"

"No. What upsets me is that we are friends. We live together. You are... all I know. I trust you. But I feel like you know more about me than I know about you. In fact, I know nothing about you. I know nothing about anything," her head snapped to him. "Who are you? I obviously can't remember anything I might have known about you before my accident. So tell me. Who is Jaqen H'ghar?"

Jaqen said nothing for a very long moment. Time passed them slowly, and Cat's words hung in the air, spinning around them in the large room. After several minutes passed in silence, she realized Jaqen was not going to tell her anything, and wished she could reach out and snatch her words back inside her.

She had been very stupid.

Jaqen was a quiet, closed man. She should know that by now, even with her memory loss. _Stupid, stupid, stupid._

She set her glass down, about to pull herself off the sofa, but Jaqen's voice made her freeze where she sat.

"Who is Jaqen H'ghar?" he whispered, with a bitter smile. "Not even I know the answer to that question." he reached for the bottle and re filled both of glasses. "All I know about him, is that he died when I was eight years old." He took drink. "I killed him."

Cat's eye brows furrowed. "I don't understand."

"I don't either." he caressed her face with two fingers, resting them on her jawline. "I don't remember why, or how, or whether I knew him before, or had just met him that day... I just remember, that I killed him. In the middle of the day. It was a Sunday, because I remember hearing the church bells. I can't remember blood. Just dead eyes, staring up at me. I killed him, and I became him after that. I took his name. I left Dohna as Jaqen H'ghar, and I have been Jaqen H'ghar ever since."

When his fingers left her face, Cat found herself longing for them. Her eyes followed Jaqen's hand to the bottle as he refilled his glass again. She looked down at her glass. It was empty too.

"Your family. They never tried looking for you?" she held her glass out for him to fill.

Jaqen shrugged. "Perhaps," his eyes met hers. "I'll never know."

"Is this what you think about? Jaqen H'ghar, the man you killed?"

A corner of Jaqen's lip curved upwards. "No. I haven't thought about that man in years."

"Then you didn't answer my question."

Jaqen's crooked smile turned into a toothy grin. A very rare, and very beautiful sight. "_Who is Jaqen H'ghar?_ she asked."

"I also asked what you were thinking."

Jaqen emptied out his glass into his mouth, setting it down on the table. "You are too curious. And far too clever for your own good, Cat. I've told you this before." he pushed himself off the sofa with a groan, and began collecting his folders into one pile.

Cat felt her hand tighten around the glass, turning away from the infuriating man. _Lovely Cat. Curious Cat. Clever Cat. He speaks to me as if I were a child._

"That's not my name, is it? Cat. That is not really what I'm called."

Jaqen's back stiffened, but he didn't turn to her. "No. It's not."

"No. I didn't think so. Did I kill someone too? Take their name?"

Jaqen turned to her then. "No."

Cat stood, crossing to Jaqen. "Something happened to me." her thumb brushed against the scar on her right wrist. "Something terrible. Something I wanted to forget."

Jaqen nodded.

"Is that how I got these?" she turned her wrist in the dim light coming from the fireplace.

"I found you in a basement, hanging from a rope by your arms. Men. They were torturing you."

"There was no hiking accident then. It's all me. In here. In my head. Like you, when you were a child. You don't remember because you don't want to."

"Like I said. Clever."

"Will I ever remember? Any of it?"

"You have. Once. This is not the first time you have tried to forget. You will remember again, if you try to. If you want to. Only you can make the memories come back. Only you can make them stay in the dark."

Cat sighed. It all made sense now. So many questions... answered.

"Wait here." he whispered, walking out of the room. When he returned, it was with a large grey envelope.

"Everything I know about you, the real you, is in here. Everything you need to know to find answers to those questions I am sure you ask yourself daily, is in here." he placed the envelope in her hands. Cat's eyes rose from the parcel to meet his. There was nothing in them. No visible emotion. She dropped her gaze on the envelope once more, and lifted the flap. Jaqen took a few steps back, giving her some privacy, and picking up the bottle and glass from the coffee table.

Cat slid her hand inside the folder, feeling a thrill pulse through her. Her fingertips found the edge of something. She felt her way around it. It was a passport. She snatched her hand out. "Twice? You said I've tried forgetting twice." she shook her head, crossing to the fireplace. The proximity warmed her face and arms. Her hands gripped the envelope tightly. "There was a reason I wanted to forget. Right?" she turned to Jaqen for confirmation. He was staring at her from across the room with surprise. "Twice? Twice I've tried to forget?"

"Twice you've remember." Jaqen corrected her. "There was a reason it didn't work the first time. You didn't want to let go. I told you this when you asked me to help you forget a second time. I warned you, that it would not work if you weren't willing to forget completely."

Cat turned to the fireplace and tossed the envelope into the fire. "I don't know what her name was. But it is Cat now." she faced Jaqen. "Whatever was in that folder will turn to ashes, and so will the memory of her. Please don't mention any of this gain. Not the folder, or her. She's gone." Cat turned to leave, but only made it as far as her bedroom door, her hand around the knob. "You're wrong, you know. You said twice I've remembered. I only remembered her that once. I _don't_ remember her now." her hand turned the knob, pushing her bedroom door open.

"There was one thing..." Jaqen said behind her. "You asked me to tell you, when your training was done, why it is you are training in the first place."

"Is my training done?"

"No."

"Then good night, Jaqen." she said before closing the door behind her.

That night she didn't dream of anything, and when she woke, she felt like there was a hole inside her chest. Her thoughts went back to that folder she'd burned. Perhaps it had not been the right thing to do, but it was too late to go back now.

She changed out of her pajamas and went upstairs, where Jaqen was fixing breakfast. She reached over the table to grab a toast and took two ravenous bites out of it.

"I won't be training today." she announced, pouring herself a glass of milk. "I'm taking a personal day. Driving down to town."

Jaqen glanced over at her from the stove, looking as if he was about to argue against it, but merely nodded. "Do you want some company?"

Cat shook her head, forcing a smile and Jaqen nodded again. They ate their breakfast in a tense silence.

The road to town was nice. She enjoyed the snowy landscape, and Jaqen's taste in music was superb. It helped to stifle her thoughts and was a perfect soundtrack for the long drive.

She drove around town a while the small village a while, not sure why'd she'd come down here in the first place. Perhaps it was just to get away from Jaqen. This was the first time she was away from him since as far as she could remember, which was about a week. It was the first time she wanted to be away from him.

When she spotted the small business across a street, she realized she'd known all along why she'd come. She parked her car next to the only other car in the parking lot of the shop and stepped inside. There was bassy alternative music playing overhead and no one behind the counter. A bell announced her arrival, and a voice called to her in Spanish from another room before a guy a few years older than her walked into the room.

"Hola." he smiled. He had a mop of blonde hair and dark blue eyes. The beginnings of a tattoo could be seen on the right side of his neck and more tattoos snaked around his exposed arms.

"Hola." Cat forced herself to smile back.

"You're English?" the guy asked in a thick Spanish accent . Cat nodded crossing to a wall to stare at the displays.

"How may I help?"

"Well... a tattoo wouldn't be a bad idea, since I _am_ at a tattoo parlor." Cat heard the guy chuckle behind her.

"Do you know what you want already, or you want to look around first?"

She turned to him. "I know what I want." she pulled back the sleeves of her coat to expose the scars around her wrists. "I want two bands around my wrists."

The guy crossed to a table to turn on a lamp and called Cat over, pulling on the glasses that hung from a chain around his neck and inspecting her scars under the light with cold fingers. "Fully healed." he noted turning her wrist and running the pad of his thumb along the pink flesh. "Did you do this to yourself?" he dropped her wrist and met her eyes.

"No."

"How did you get them?"

Cat shrugged. "I don't remember."

The guy considered her answer for a moment. "Did someone do this?"

"Do you question all your clients this way?" Cat snapped at him. It made him smile and he turned the table into a seat.

"Sit." he patted the leather seat before he left the room. Cat pulled her coat off and sat. She could hear running water from the other room. "You want to hide the scars?" the guy called from the other room.

"Yes." Cat yelled loud enough for him to hear. The guy walked in wearing black latex gloves.

"You want a design. Celtic. Elvish. Thorns. Vines. I can follow the design of the scars and then just add flowers and shit."

Cat shook her head. "Just solid black bands all around."

"It's going to hurt." he warned her pulling open a small package and rubbing her wrists with an alcohol pad. He chuckled out of nowhere and shook his head. "Was it shackles? Did you and your boyfriend get a little carried away?"

Cat grimaced. This guy was beginning to get on her nerves. "You talk too much, you know that? You're a little too nosy. And I know it's going to hurt, its a damn tattoo not a sticker. And I don't have a boyfriend."

The guy looked up at her through pale lashes. "I don't normally question clients. If some fat man walks in here and asks me to tattoo the face of Bob Hope on his left ass cheek, I won't even ask. Nothing very intriguing behind that I suspect." Cat bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from smiling. "I will shut up now. Promise." the guy added with a smile before he turned to prep the pen.

"There is nothing intriguing about this either. I can't even remember how I got the scars. More than hide them, I want something to help me to never forget."

A humming buzz filled the room when the guy turned on the machine and he took one of her hands in his gloved one. "You don't want to forget something you can't remember." he smiled up at her again. "Nice."

This time Cat smiled too.

"When I said it would hurt, I meant it would hurt. Wrist tattoos are amongst the most painful." Cat nodded. "I'm Edric by the way. But you can call me Ned."

For a moment, she was not sure what to answer. Her thoughts trailed back to the envelope she'd held in her hand the night before. It was nothing but ashes now. Like that girl she once was. Whomever she was, it was no longer her. "Cat." she offered.

The guy nodded with a smile, and turned to her wrist, beginning the tattoo.

He was right. It hurt like hell.

Edric didn't keep his promise to shut up. He talked. Talked a lot.

He chatted on and on in his broken English. He didn't ask her a lot of questions and Car was thankful for it. It didn't take long for her to come to the conclusion that she liked him. He was funny and awkwardly nice, and she found she didn't mind his abrasive manner, or the way he stared boldly at her face whenever he got a chance to.

"This is my card." he placed the card in her hand before helping her into her coat, careful of her bandaged wrists. "Call me if you have any more questions or if you notice an infection, or you can just drive over and I'll have a look at it."

"Thanks." Cat looked down at the card in her cupped palm. His full name was Edric Dayne. There was two numbers, an email and a twitter address below his name.

"Of course you don't need to have an infection to call or visit. If you ever want to hang out I'm here."

Cat didn't need to see his face to know he was smiling one of the cocky smiles he'd flashed at her earlier. When she did look up at him, the smile was there, plastered on his face, same as it had been earlier.

"I'd like that." she admitted. "But I'm not sure how long I'll be in town. I'm sort of never too long in one place."

Edric shrugged cooly. "Shame. If you ever are in town again though, you know where to find me."

Cat snorted sarcastically. "Thanks again. Bye Edric."

"Bye Cat." he smiled, a more casual smile, and Cat smiled back at him before she walked out into the cold.

The drive back to Jaqen's didn't take as long as the drive to town had. Her wrists were beginning to throb, and the pain was slowly spreading to her arms. Edric had warned her. He'd explained care instructions and warned her about pain for several days, but for some silly reason she hadn't believed it would be this bad.

When she walked into the large house, Jaqen was nowhere to be seen, but she there was a long black dress with a note on her bed. There was a single word written in Jaqen's hand. It read _Studio._

She changed into more comfortable clothing and made her way upstairs to the studio. She'd been in this house less than 24 hours, but it was not difficult to find the studio. All of Jaqen's homes were the same.

She found a bare chested Jaqen doing pull ups at the end of the room to some very intense Puccini song. Cat was not sure how she knew it was Puccini. When Jaqen saw her, he jumped off the bar and turned the music off.

"I thought I said no training." Cat reminded him, lazily holding up the dress by the hanger. "What is this for?"

"A practice dress." Jaqen wiped his face in a towel before flinging it over his shoulder and handed Cat an envelope.

She opened it carefully. It was an invitation to a banquet. "What's in Finland?" she asked, skimming through the fancy curled font.

"The Finns, I would guess." he said taking one of her arms in his hand and raising her bandaged to have a closer look."What happened?" he met her eyes. Cat groaned softly at the touch, pulling free from his grasp.

"This event is in three days." she said, ignoring his question.

"Yes. That is how long we have to tidy up your dancing skills. If you have any. How was town?"

"It was fine." she placed the dress in his hands. "I don't dance."

"You will in three days."

"I don't see how it matters whether I dance or not. It's just some stupid banquet." this was the first time she had ever stood up to him this way, and she wasn't sure if it had anything to do with the fact that she'd discovered the truth about herself, even when she didn't remember.

"It matters to me." he smiled down at her, taking the invitation from her hand and placing the dress hanger in it's place. "It is a crucial night for me. You will be presentable. You can find a room to change in through that door there."

Cat sighed, ready to argue, but the patient look on Jaqen's face made any argument seem childish and pointless.

The dress fit her like a glove but felt too revealing on her. When she walked out into the studio, Jaqen smiled. "You look lovely." he bowed his head slightly and offered her a hand. Cat took it awkwardly.

"Breathe." he said, and they simultaneously took in a deep breath. "This is just another exercise. Prove to yourself that you can overcome _any_ challenge, no matter what it is."

Cat relaxed. She did love a good challenge.

Jaqen's free hand found the curve of her waist, and Cat felt his thumb caressing the area. She noticeably tensed, and Jaqen seemed pleased at his effect on her.

"Don't we need music?" Cat pointed out. Jaqen smiled down at her, parting his lips to speak,but was interrupted by a knock on the door. Harwin walked in, nodding at Cat before turning to Jaqen. "We found him. He's here."

Jaqen nodded, releasing Cat. "Take him to the basement." he told Harwin. "Take the girl too. I'll be down in a moment."

Harwin nodded turning to Cat and she followed him without his asking. As she followed a few steps behind him down the stairs to the first floor, and down the stairs again to the basement she wondered if he knew about her. The old her. The fact that she'd made herself forget. She wondered if the others knew too.

All the men were waiting in the basement, except for Anguy. They all regarded her with curious eyes for a few seconds before looking away.

_They know._

She could tell by the way they stared at her. As if they knew something she did not . . . as if all they saw was _her._The girl she once was. She cleared her throat. "I know the truth." she spoke out, and five pairs of eyes were on her.

"We don't understand." of course it would be Harwin who would speak up. He was the man they looked up to when Jaqen was not in the room.

"Yes you do." Cat told him. "Jaqen told me about it last night. He said I've tried forgetting my past twice already."

"You remember? Again?" this time it was Lem who spoke out. Harwin glared at him, but he seemed to not notice.

"No. And I don't want to. Which is why I want to ask you all for one favour. I'm me. Cat. Not her. I don't remember anything, I simply know the truth now. So whatever you remember about her... just know she's gone. I'm me."

No one said anything at first. Finally, Harwin cleared his throat. "You're right." he said through clenched teeth, a sad look glazing his eyes. "You're not her. Not anymore."

Cat was not prepared to hear that. Those words were like a punch to the gut, knocking the wind out of her, and for a flicker of a second, she wished she still was her. She bit her lip, looking away from the old man. She considered leaving upstairs. She was tired, and it was about time to remove her bandages. She could just deal with Jaqen later. But at that moment, Jaqen walked in; freshly changed out of his workout clothes. He nodded once at Lem and once at Tom, and they dragged the one called Jack from the crowd and sat him on a chair that had been positioned in the middle of the room. Jaqen stood in front of the man massaging his hands. For a moment, Cat thought he was going to hit him.

"I could take your other eye." Jaqen said in a bored tone.

The man sprung from the chair, but Lem was quick to catch his shoulder and push him back down on his seat.

"Or I could kill you."

Jaqen was standing in the way of Cat, so she could not see the man's face, but she heard his sharp in take of air. At that moment, she realized she wanted to leave. Wanted to run up those stairs and jump on a car and drive away. She didn't want to be Cat anymore. She wanted to be herself again. Whomever she had been. She wanted her. Not Cat.

"Jaqen..." Jack tried to speak, but a fist across the face shut him up.

Cat almost spoke out in protest, but stopped herself. She was not sure if it was out of fear, or embarrassment, or what.

With a snap of Jaqen's fingers, Greenbeard fetched a few liters of opaque liquid and a towel for him.

"No! No! No!" Jack began to cry out, but his voice was quickly muffled by the towel. Tom held it down in place tilting the man's head back while Jaqen moved besides him as he uncapped one of the bottles. Cat could see everything now. She could feel her eyes wide on the towel over Jack's face as the bottle's content was poured over it and he gasped for air with choking, wet sounds under the wet fabric.

When Tom pulled the towel away, Jack turned his head to his side and began coughing out the liquid. As soon as he caught his breath, he began pleading in Catalan. Or maybe it was Spanish. Cat could not tell over the stifled sobs.

Harwin was besides her by then, and he called to Jaqen. "Jaqen. The girl."

"She stays." Jaqen voice was stern. Tom placed the towel over Jack's face again and Jaqen uncapped another bottle. By then the scent had betrayed the bottle's content. It was petrol.

"Stop!" Cat crossed to Jaqen. "Whatever he did, just stop. I won't let you do this." she tried to snatch the bottle from Jaqen's hand, but he pulled it away in time, spilling a bit of it by his feet.

"Step away, Cat." his voice was calm, but cold and steely.

Cat shook her head. "No."

"Perhaps you should let her leave." Harwin suggested.

"She stays." Jaqen barked out. "Harwin. Take her." Jaqen called, and before she could argue any further, Harwin had taken a hold of her arms.

"I'm sorry." he whispered as he pulled her back. For a moment Cat considered making a run for the door. Leaving all this behind. Whatever terrible thing happened to her that she so desperately wanted to forget and leave behind, she was sure she had not meant to trade for this. But the sound of Jack's wet, strained gasps for air drowned out her thoughts and Cat didn't run. She just stood there, unable to move.

Harwin's hand slip into hers as then, giving it a tight squeeze, and Cat eyes met and held his the rest of the time; up until she heard a gun shot and the wet _thump_as Jack's body fell to the floor. Then her eyes closed and Harwin's hand no longer held hers.

"Get rid of him. Clean up the mess." Jaqen ordered Lem, and the large man nodded dutifully, taking the dead man by his feet and dragging him towards one of the exits. The rest of the men were starting to leave. Only Cat remained, her feet glued to the floor, her eyes staring at the streak of blood and petrol on the floor that Jack's body left behind. When Jaqen turned to face her, her eyes slowly rose to meet him. His expression as calm and alluring as ever. "That's what happens to those who betray my loyalty, lovely girl."

**AN**

**Hello lovely readers. Here is the Arya chapter. I had fun with this one. I really like the way it turned out. **

**We are introduced to Edric Dayne, Arya gets a tattoo, Jaqen is beginning to freak her out, she does not remember who she is and this time, it seems Jaqen's methods worked, since as soon as she sensed something was about to happen to Jack, she wished to be herself again, and not Cat, but even that wasn't enough. **

**Just to make things clear, in case they are confusing. Jaqen found Arya the same afternoon she abandoned Gendry and Sandor in Bordeaux. A few days after that, she does the "forgetting" process (i really need to find a name for it) which is witnessed by Anguy. It doesn't last long since she dreams of her father's death and a fight she had with Gendry in her dreams, which trigger some, not all memories. She asks Jaqen to do the process again, and he does it. A week-ish later, and we are here. **

**Hope that helps :) **

**Thanks for all the reviews. They keep my motor running, just knowing all the things you love about this story. **

**Next chapter, no Arya, but there will be Gendry/Anguy, a bit of Tyrion/Sansa, Dany/Jorah, some Brienne/Sandor, and some Gendry/Dany and Gendry/Sandor/Brienne. Maybe some Cersei. We haven't seen her in a while. I hope to fit her in with the flow of the next chapter. But yes, BIG chapter for Gendry coming up. **

**Thanks again! And don't forget to review!**


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